Will the New York Giants end up improving from their below-average 5-11 finish in the 2018 regular season?
The 2019 season is starting to spiral out of control for the New York Giants. Big Blue is currently 2-6 at the season’s halfway point.
The Giants won three games in 2017 and then five in 2018. Can they improve their record again this year? Let’s go ahead and predict the results of the remaining eight games on their regular-season slate.
Week 9 Home Matchup with the Dallas Cowboys
The Giants will look to snap their four-game losing streak next Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. It’ll be a rematch of a Week 1 matchup that saw the Giants suffer a blowout loss by a score of 35-17.
Dallas will come to the Meadowlands fresh off a BYE week and one game removed from blowing out the Philadelphia Eagles on “Sunday Night Football.” The win over Philly helped secure their spot at the top of the division.
For the Giants, this game will be a big challenge when it comes to their struggling offensive line. That group is set to match up with a Dallas defensive line that includes one of the league’s top pass-rushers in Demarcus Lawrence.
While it may end up being a closer game than when the two teams met earlier this season, expect the Cowboys to come away with the win. The Giants will thus fall to 2-7.
Prediction: Cowboys 31, Giants 21
Week 10 Road Matchup with the New York Jets
The battle of New York will be between two teams who are also battling for a top-five draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Both the New York Jets and Giants have had miserable 2019 seasons. However, the crosstown rivalry should bring out the best in either squad.
This game could go either way, but the Giants’ defense has, at times, proved they’re able to bend without breaking and hold opposing offenses to field goals. With Jets quarterback Sam Darnold struggling, the Giants should be able to get just enough stops to support an offense led by Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.
Thus, I see the Giants’ five-game skid ending with a victory over the Jets. Darnold may just see the ghost of former teammate and current Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
Prediction: Giants 24, Jets 19
Week 11 bye
After 10 weeks of football, the Giants will finally get a bye in Week 11. Based on these projections they’d enter the bye with a record of 3-7.
Week 12 Road Matchup with the Chicago Bears
Last year, an Eli Manning-led Giants team defeated the NFC North champion-Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium. It was arguably the highlight of New York’s season.
This year, the two teams will square off in Chicago with both organizations having different quarterbacks under center. Last year, Manning faced off against Chase Daniel, who started in place of an injured Mitchell Trubisky. This year, however, the Giants will face the former No. 2 overall pick with rookie Daniel Jones.
While Chicago has had a rough 3-4 start thus far with the offense struggling to score points, their defense has been among the NFL’s elite.
An effective defense in front of their home crowd will not be easy for a rookie quarterback to succeed against. This is why the Bears should get the win at Soldier Field.
Prediction: Bears 20, Giants 10
Week 13 Home Matchup with the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have had a fantastic 2019 season thus far as they’re 7-1 under first-year head coach Matt LaFleur.
With Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones and a defense allowing just over 20 points-per-game, this is a near-impossible matchup for a rebuilding Giants team.
Prediction: Packers 42, Giants 24
Week 14 Road Matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles
The Giants haven’t beaten the Eagles since November of 2016 and have only beaten Philadelphia four times since 2010.
With the Eagles likely to have a division title on the line and the Giants having nothing to play for, odds are the Eagles’ domination over the Giants will continue.
Prediction: Eagles 31, Giants 17
Week 15 Home Matchup with the Miami Dolphins
After a rough stretch of playing against contenders, the Giants will happily welcome the woeful Miami Dolphins to chilly MetLife Stadium for a mid-December match-up.
There’s a good chance the Dolphins come to town seeking their first win. While the Giants aren’t a successful football team at the moment, the Dolphins are a whole lot worse.
Expect this to be a big game for Daniel Jones and the Giants offense. The defense should also be able to contain whoever’s under center for Miami. When the clock hits triple zero, expect the Giants to have their fourth win of the year.
Prediction: Giants 34, Dolphins 20
Week 16 Road Matchup with the Washington Redskins
It feels like several years ago, but back on Sept. 29, the Giants crushed the Redskins at MetLife Stadium. They ultimately held Washington to just a field goal in a 24-3 victory.
There’s a good chance by the time this game rolls around, the starting quarterback matchup will be Dwayne Haskins vs. Daniel Jones. It’ll thus be a battle that should bring in national attention. This, despite both teams being out of the playoff picture.
Although the Giants and Redskins have split their series each of the last four seasons, it’s hard to imagine that happening in 2019 with the Redskins franchise in turmoil.
Expect a fight from Haskins as he looks to prove he’s the quarterback of the Redskins future. However, also expect the Giants to come away with the win and match their five victories from 2018.
Prediction: Giants 21, Redskins 17
Week 17 home matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles
Will the Giants finally beat the Eagles when they meet in Week 17? I doubt it.
With a Week 17 loss, Pat Shurmur‘s record as Giants head coach will be 10-22 in two seasons. It’ll be just a one-game improvement from his two-year tenure as the Cleveland Browns head coach, where he went 9-23.
