Giants have to demonstrate they still care coming off lifeless loss to Patriots

Jaxson Dart was asked what his goal was for the final four weeks of the Giants season.

He left no gray area.

“Win,” the rookie quarterback said before Sunday’s home game against the Washington Commanders (3-10).

Is it that simple?

“Yeah,” Dart said. “Win four games. Take it one at a time.”

That’s the correct answer, especially from the team’s franchise quarterback. Sunday at MetLife Stadium, however, this entire Giants team (2-11) must answer a similar question:

Do they care enough about winning if it doesn’t change the outcome of their season? Do they care enough to face adversity?

Do they care about the results this late in a lost and dysfunctional season?

Do they care not just because they’re trying to secure bonuses in their current contracts or earn new ones, but because it means something to them to earn respect on the football field for themselves and the jersey they wear?

They need to answer these questions because Mike Kafka’s Giants frankly didn’t look like they were heavily invested the last time they played a game.

That 33-15 Monday Night Football loss to New England on Dec. 1, before their Week 14 bye, was a total no-show.

They trailed 30-7 at halftime. They lost 269 yards to 104 before the break. Younghoe Koo refused a field goal attempt.

Tight end Chris Manhertz, a wise veteran of this desert, doesn’t see a team that has folded or is going to fold. But he said the Giants must commit to the fundamental habits needed to win in the NFL.

“I would say we were outplayed,” Manhertz said of the New England loss. “I don’t put it down to a lack of attention. Guys are busting their butts 10 to 12 hours a day here – and the coaches are here longer than that – trying to win. As an individual, it would be a disservice to everyone not to care.

Manhertz said that for a variety of reasons, “a lot of teams have more margin for error” than the Giants, given their injuries, coaching upheavals and other factors. This makes it more difficult to respond to adversity in games.

This makes it more important to not make critical mistakes in the first place.

“For us, a little setback means a lot more,” Manhertz said. “We have to be on point 99 percent of the time to give ourselves a chance in all phases.”

The Giants, believe it or not, enter this game as 2.5-point favorites despite their seven-game losing streak. That’s because the Commanders have lost eight straight, following a 31-0 shutout of Minnesota. And they’re playing without franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels and veteran tight end and team leader Zach Ertz.

The Giants are therefore favored in a game for the first time since November 10, 2024, when they faced the Carolina Panthers in Germany.

The Giants remember well, however, that they lost that game, 20-17, to a game by the Panthers who had entered the game with a 2-7 record.

Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor also said that while this year’s 2-11 record is peppered with plenty of encouraging stretches, the Giants can’t pretend that being in close games means they don’t need to make significant improvements.

A 2-11 record is 2-11 until the Giants’ results show they are better than that.

“I can say our game is different and we are in close games, but we didn’t finish those games,” Eluemunor said. “I’m a positive guy by nature, but at the same time, we’re 2-11. So obviously there’s a lot of things we need to improve on as a team and me individually. There’s no record-level picks. I feel like it’s kind of a losing mentality.”

So what is the Giants charge on Sunday?

Well, I hope it’s to win, like Dart said. What matters is the essential.

Still, after those laughs in New England, the Giants really need to start fresh here.

Manhertz said they couldn’t be results-oriented. The process is what matters. And so on Sunday, before the final score says what it reads, the Giants must provide a foundation of competition, toughness and will.

“At a minimum, for me, the wait is high effort,” Manhertz said. “You’ll get beat on one play, and some other plays might not be clean. But effort and focus and discipline, those are the types of things we can control. That’s always been our expectation.”

Eluemunor added: “The need is not a question. It’s just about us as a team being better.”

Desire is not a question?

ALL RIGHT. Prove it.