A bittersweet finale for the New York Giants on Sunday, as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-17 at MetLife Stadium – giving them back-to-back wins for the first time in over two calendar years, but also hurting their potential draft stock.
“I’m just really proud of the players and coaches for hanging tough and putting in the work every week; they never wavered, and even if the results weren’t there, the process was right,” interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “This season wasn’t what we all wanted, but they finished it the right way.”
Jaxson Dart completed his rookie season completing 22 of 32 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, one of which will make the highlight reels as one of the craziest TD throws of the season.
Tyrone Tracy was the offensive star, registering 159 yards from scrimmage – including 103 on the ground, giving the Giants their first 100-yard rusher of the season – and Dart’s other TD pass. Gunner Olszewski got the lion’s share of Dart’s yardage through the air, going for 102 yards while tying Tracy for the team high with eight grabs.
"Tracy's a baller. He's a guy that can do a little bit of everything…he’s so dependable, and a positive spirit,” Dart said of the running back. “I’ve loved growing our relationship, and we know that we're going to play with each other for a long time. I was happy for him being able to reach that benchmark today.”
And so, while the Giants finish the season on their first winning streak since winning three in a row from Weeks 11-14 of 2023, the good vibes could have cost the Giants serious draft position. Just a week after beating the Raiders in a game that gave the loser the inside track on the No. 1 overall pick, the Giants fell to the No. 5 pick as of the end of the early games – and while they could pick as high as third, they could fall down again to No. 6 if the Jets, Cardinals, and Commanders all lose in the late window.
Of course, we know whomever is taken with the Giants’ selection will be under the tutelage of a new head coach – whether that be an elevated Mike Kafka or someone new altogether – and speculation will run rampant on whether or not the current GM, Joe Schoen, will be making that pick at all.
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Kafka said of his future. “I’m thinking about this great win that we had, and enjoying it with the players, and coaches, and my family.”
Whatever comes this offseason, though, QB1 is confident Big Blue can turn it around quick, and he can join Caleb Williams and Drake Maye as first-round picks who went from freshman blues to a sophomore playoff berth.
“Absolutely – we can’t accept what happened this year to ever happen again,” Dart said. “I’m excited for the offseason, to grow that culture and help put my hand in it. It’s gonna have me and everyone else sick that we have to watch other teams play (in the playoffs), and we gotta make sure that we don’t let that happen again.”
Added fellow rookie Abdul Carter: “I felt like we were happy for the win, but just me, myself, how I felt, I'm hurt right now. I want to keep playing. I want to do more. I feel like we should be in a better position and we're not. I want to make sure that we do everything in our power next year so we're not in this position."
One thing no one can take away, though: the Giants gave owner John Mara the game ball today, with Kafka calling Mara – who is battling cancer – ‘the poster child for toughness and resiliency.'