Giants’ return to respectability starts with competing in NFC East

Sunday is an opportunity for the Giants to accomplish something they rarely do: win a game in their division.

The Giants are 5-17-1 in the NFC East during Joe Schoen’s four years as general manager, good for a measly .217 winning percentage in the division.

They were winless 0-6 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders last season.

And they’re 1-3 this season so far with a loss to every division opponent, a win against Philly and two games remaining: one each against Washington and Dallas.

Technically, Sunday’s game means nothing to the Giants (2-11), who were the first team eliminated from the playoffs for a second straight NFL season.

Beating Washington (3-10) would hurt New York’s chances of landing the top pick in April’s draft, a spot they currently hold.

But if the Giants want to stop being a league-wide punchline, they can start by winning a few games in their own division.

It’s a division they haven’t been able to win since 2011, even though the NFC East hasn’t had a new regular season champion since the Eagles in 2003-04.

The Eagles, Cowboys and Commanders continue to rotate on the pedestal while the Giants sit on the outside, unimportant, looking in.

“These games are huge, so I’m really excited to get back into them,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said this week. “Obviously you look at the first game and see how each team has adapted, us and them, so far. So it’s going to be a game of chess, for sure, and it’s going to be really good energy.”

Clearly, the Giants just need a win, any win. They have lost seven straight since beating the Eagles in prime time, 34-17, on October 9.

It’s true: the Giants haven’t won a game in over two months.

But winning in the NFC East means everything. Competing in this division means everything. Being physical and tough against the Eagles, Cowboys and Washington is in the blood of this franchise during its best moments.

Without it, the Giants have nothing. And this futility is at the heart of why they have stinked for so long during this pitiful recent period.

The Giants were outscored during this 5-17-1 division stretch under Schoen and fired Brian Daboll by a total of 608-423. That means opponents have beaten them on average by a score of 26.4 to 18.4 in their division matchups, or more than a touchdown per game.

It’s incredibly bad to look at the Giants’ record against just the Eagles and Cowboys, their two biggest threats and rivals, over the last four years.

Under Schoen and Daboll, the Giants are 2-14 (.125 winning percentage) against Philadelphia and Dallas.

They were outscored 481-292 in those 16 games, meaning they lost on average by a score of 30.1 to 18.3, a difference of 11.8 points per game.

Schoen and Daboll are at least .500 against Washington, going 3-3-1 so far in their seven meetings since the start of the 2022 season.

But even that carries an asterisk: The Giants have lost three straight to Washington after Daboll and Schoen went 3-0-1 against Washington in their first four meetings.

And on Sunday, they risk losing their 131-127 lead in the rivalry.

The Giants are actually favored by 2.5 points in Sunday’s game, the first time they will be favored at the start of a game since the November 10, 2024 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany.

But if the Giants’ history under Schoen has demonstrated anything, there’s no reason to count out this team in a division game.

Until they prove otherwise.