A lot of great things happened for the Giants this past season. There probably wasn’t a “make the playoffs and win a road game” on many 2022 NFL Bingo cards, but that’s exactly what went down. Now, general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, and Co. will set out on an equally difficult task: trying to at least replicate those results in 2023 and beyond.
It will begin with New York making several critical roster decisions with many players headed for free agency. And they’ll also have to deal with higher expectations, which was the complete opposite of how things were this past year.
One thing Big Blue could do to help put themselves in a solid spot in 2023? Start having more consistent success against other NFC East teams. That was one critique Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells had about the Giants’ performance (quote via The 33rd Team):
I thought they had a great year. They have some decisions to make with their quarterback, Daniel Jones, and their running back, Saquon Barkley. They’ll try to hold onto those guys and build from there. But the one thing I’ll say about the Giants on the negative side is they haven’t beaten the heavyweights in their division. They lost to Dallas twice, and they lost to Philadelphia three times. So, they’ve got to get a better foothold in their own division if they expect improvement next year.
As usual, Parcells isn’t wrong. New York finished the regular season with a 9-7-1 record. Within the NFC, they went just 1-4-1, only going unbeaten against the Washington Commanders. This quote got me wondering how bad (or good) the Giants have performed within their own division in recent years. Here’s what I found:
- 2022: 1-4-1
- 2021: 1-5
- 2020: 4-2
- 2019: 2-4
- 2018: 1-5
- 2017: 1-5
- 2016: 4-2
- 2015: 2-4
- 2014: 2-4
- 2013: 3-3
- 2012: 3-3
- 2011: 3-3
- 2010: 3-3
- 2009: 4-2
- 2008: 4-2
Outside of that four-year stretch where New York posted a .500 record in each instance, there’s been a lot of losing going on. We’ve got just four winning records within the past 15 seasons, and you have to go all the way back to 2008-09 for consecutive years with a winning record.
If we’re looking at more recent performances, the Giants have finished a year with just one win within the division four times in the last six years. That ain’t gonna cut it, folks.
Parcells was spot-on with his thoughts. No surprise there. It’s hard to do what the Giants just did while getting swept by two of their three NFC East foes. There’s a significant talent gap between the Eagles, the Cowboys, and New York. It’s a gap Schoen will try to narrow this offseason, but it’ll take some time.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
