Before Logan Ryan even knew what was going to happen in the Eagles-Washington game on Sunday night, he made an interesting declaration:
“I feel like we run the division,” the Giants defensive back said.
“We definitely deserve to represent the NFC East,” he added.
The Giants had just beaten the Cowboys 23-19 to finish the regular season at 6-10, and were awaiting the results of that Eagles-Washington game. If the Eagles won, the Giants would be NFC East champions. If they didn’t, Ryan said he’d still feel that way.
Well, the Eagles didn’t win.
So the Giants season is over.
The Eagles kept it close, but ultimately Washington won 20-14 in a game where quarterback Alex Smith threw two interceptions. The Football Team finished with a 7-9 record, good enough to clinch a division that spent most of the year being mocked for its mediocrity.
The Giants started the 2020 season 0-5, and then dropped to 1-7, and still were in contention to win the division up until the season’s final moments. To Ryan’s point: The Giants swept Washington this season, and split their season series with both the Cowboys and Eagles, snapping long losing streaks to both foes. But the Giants didn’t take care of business against non-division foes, and only had one win this season (against the Seahawks in Week 13) versus a team that finished with a winning record.
Five of their losses were by less than 10 points, including a Week 8 game against the Buccaneers.
Consider: If the Giants had closed out that Buccaneers game, which they led in the fourth quarter, they’d be playing Tampa Bay in a home playoff game on Saturday night.
Instead, the Giants season ends without the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years. There are questions about the job security of general manager Dave Gettleman, who has accumulated a 15-43 record in three seasons on the job. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett could also be in trouble, as the Giants offense finished 31st in scoring. Only the Jets were worse. Plus, quarterback Daniel Jones only managed 11 passing touchdowns in 14 games.
Still, there is plenty of reason for optimism heading into 2021, starting with head coach Joe Judge. A year ago, the Giants hadn’t hired Judge yet, and few Big Blue fans had ever heard of the Patriots coach.
Now he has the Giants flowing in the right direction, competing for the playoffs in his first year, even if it’s in a terrible division. The Giants will return a lot of key players in 2021, including Jones, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Sterling Shepard, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, linebacker Blake Martinez and a secondary led by Logan Ryan and James Bradberry.
There are holes to fill, but the Giants appear to be on the right track.
“My words for the team at the end of the day was how proud I was that they kept playing,” Judge said after the Cowboys game. “What they’ve been able to do, sticking together as a team, all the progress we’ve made. And ultimately, whatever happens tonight, just be ready to come into work tomorrow and do whatever we have to do. Make the right decisions tonight, make sure we’re prepared that if something goes our way, that we’re ready to go ahead and play next week.
“But we’ll let tonight take care of itself. We had opportunities for 16 weeks. We came in today, it was a meaningful game, put us in position to have a chance, our guys went out and took care of business, so we’ll see what happens in the other game.”
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
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