Everyone knew coming into this season that the first quarter of the New York Giants schedule was going to be brutal, with three of their first four games on the road.
This schedule was rough but no one could have fathomed that a team with incredible talent like the New York Giants would start the season winless come Week 5.But that’s the predicament the Giants find themselves in as they host their winless counterpart, the 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers, on Sunday.
To say both teams are desperate for a win would be a huge understatement. The Giants and Chargers are the two most disappointing teams so far this season in the NFL and they’re practically mirror images of one another.
They both can’t run the ball as the Chargers have the 28th rushing attack and the Giants are 30th.
Both of their defenses have underperformed as the Chargers are 23rd and total defense and the Giants are 25th and they both have two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Eli Manning and Philip Rivers who are in the twilight of their careers.
The only real difference between these two teams is that many picked the Giants to play in Super Bowl LII. This is why there’s more pressure on the Giants to win on Sunday and to keep their season from going completely down the toilet.
If the Giants lose on Sunday the season is essential over. At 0-5 even if they were to make a trade for offensive tackle Joe Thomas it would be too little too late to dig themselves from out of this hole.
Even the most optimistic Giants fan at that point would have to admit there’s no way this team is making the playoffs.
What makes this season a truly disappointing is the fact that the Giants have struggled in all three phases of the game. Week 1 & 2 they lost because the offense was nonexistent, weeks 3 & 4 the defense faded in the fourth quarter, and the past three games special teams blunders have hurt the Giants tremendously.
When you’re struggling in all three phases it’s almost impossible to win and difficult to fix.
This is a huge test for head coach Ben McAdoo who has to show that he can rally his troops and have his team play four solid quarters of football.
Regardless of what record the Giants finish with, McAdoo’s job is probably safe since he guided them to the playoffs last season. But he would be firmly on the hot seat headed into next season if he can’t turn things around.
Not only is it on McAdoo to turn things around, but the players need to step up and play to their capability. With the exception of Landon Collins and rookie Evan Engram a case can be made that all of the other marquee players have underperformed.
It’s time for each player to look at themselves and realize they need to play better and to hold one another accountable for their play.
The 2017 season was supposed to be one of the most successful seasons in the 93-year history of the Giants franchise. If they don’t get things turned around and win on Sunday, it will be one of the more disappointing seasons.
