Earl Potteiger’s 1927 Giants were named NFL champions, and since then, we’ve seen Allie Sherman in 1961, Dan Reeves in 1993, and Jim Fassel in 1997.
And now, Brian Daboll is the sixth coach in Giants history to reach the playoffs in his first season at the helm, a resounding 38-10 win over Indianapolis Sunday locking Big Blue into the sixth seed for the NFC playoffs and a likely matchup in San Francisco two weeks from now.
“So that means we’re in the playoffs, right?” Daboll deadpanned at his postgame press conference. “Yeah. Feels good.”
All season, really, Daboll and the Giants have downplayed the possibility of making the playoffs in his first season – he wouldn’t even say the word this week – even as the team started 6-2 before their bye. Given that they’re 3-4-1 since, they definitely didn’t want to take anything for granted, but now, they are officially in, and next week’s finale in Philadelphia means everything for the Eagles – who need a win to clinch home field advantage and the NFC East – and a victory lap for Big Blue.
And yet, Daboll still isn’t “satisfied.”
“I'm just happy we won this game. Am I excited? Certainly, but I think you got to just stick with the process that got you here. Got to get ready to play another game,” he said. “The playoffs are a different breed, one-and-done, but we still have one more game before that.”
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Even with one week to go, the players will have off Monday and Tuesday off, a rarity this season – and one that Daboll had to bless after quarterback Daniel Jones, who got to break down the team after the clincher, gave his squad without the coach’s permission.
“He basically gave it to everybody without talking to me, but I said, well, we’ll go with what Daniel said,” Daboll smiled.
He won’t look ahead, of course, but Daboll did say that the Giants’ goal “will never be to just make the playoffs,” and they’re likely headed to San Francisco for their first playoff game in six seasons.
And it took until that clinching win, and a question about the Gatorade bath he got late in the game for Daboll to finally open up about what it all means.
“It was sticky and wet, but good excitement, obviously. You work hard in this business to try to give yourself a chance to play more games; we’ve done that and put ourselves in position to compete, so there’s excitement, definitely.”
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As for the team, well, they did it the way the Giants have done it all year: strong defense, a heavy ground game, and Daniel Jones making plays when he needed to.
This week, though, the second and third facets were one in the same, as Jones had 91 of the team’s 217 yards on the ground, including two second-half touchdown runs that all but salted it away and got the fans at MetLife rocking – but of course, Jones wouldn’t take all, or much, of the credit.
"I'm really appreciative and grateful for the support of the fans, but it's a team thing. This was a complete team win today,” Jones said. “All three phases played really well. On offense we executed and played really well, and I’m proud of the team to come out in a game with an opportunity like this and play really well.”
“He's a heck of a player and a heck of a quarterback. I think it really showed not just today, but the whole season. I'm just happy for him,” Saquon Barkley said of Jones. “To hear his name chanted, it’s a beautiful thing, and you can finally see he’s starting to get the respect he’s earned. He gave us the opportunity to play playoff football; he locked it in today, and came up big when we needed it most.”
It’s clear that after three years (and two head coaches) of wondering what Daniel Jones was, he has finally blossomed under the leadership of Daboll, who mentored Josh Allen into an MVP candidate in Buffalo before coming to New York.
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“He’s meant a lot; I’ve learned a lot from him, a lot of football, and grown a lot as a player,” Jones said. “I appreciate his support, and giving me the chance to go out there and play. He’s helped me, and all of us, a lot, and I’m definitely grateful for him.”
Barkley added that he thinks Daboll is coach of the year, and while the head coach had said earlier this season that it’s not really necessary for a team to take on his personality, the Giants have been a no-nonsense, team-first squad, everyone in the locker room making the most of every day despite what many will still say is one of the most talent-bereft rosters in the NFL.
But as they head into Week 18, the Giants are in a position 16 other teams won’t be come January 9, and that’s in the postseason.
A first for guys like Jones and Saquon Barkley, whose Giants careers have been nothing but turmoil, chaos, and a lot of losing – even in a weird 2020 season where they had a the chance to make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record until the literal last game of the season.
You work with these guys every day, and some of them have had some challenging times here," Daboll said. "So I’m extremely happy for the players first and foremost, but the staff, trainers, ownership, coaches, everyone."
“This is real special, a huge accomplishment, and you have to give credit to all the guys coming in every day since OTAs with the right mindset,” Barkley added. “It’s a beautiful thing, because let’s be honest – no one outside our facility gave us a chance to do this, but we just stuck to the script and believed in each other.”
No such wait this time, as they handled their business, and now, business is good – but as Barkley says, it’s still business to go.
“At the end of the day, we still have to get ready for next week and beyond,” Barkley said. “You want to make it to the playoffs, but making it to the playoffs is not like you won the Super Bowl. You gave yourself a chance to compete for the Super Bowl, but it’s just another step ahead, and we have to keep working.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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