The New York Giants were a perfect 3-0 during the preseason and the team that finished 3-14 a year ago looked like it had a purpose, a swagger and the potential to show dramatic improvement in the 2025 regular season.
Unfortunately for the Giants, head coach Brian Daboll and the team's fans, they also have the most difficult schedule in the league, one that will be very difficult to overcome even though the team looks quite a bit stronger than it did a year ago.
The Giants appear to have a defense that is capable of opening eyes around the NFL and cause major problems for opposing quarterbacks. Every defense that has the ability to take over a game needs at least one player who is going to intimidate opponents on an every-game basis. The Giants appear to have that player in rookie linebacker Abdul Carter.
The Giants' first-round draft choice from Penn State is listed as starting right outside linebacker and he appears to be a player who is going to be a fantastic edge rusher. He certainly took off from that position last year with the Nittany Lions and demonstrated that he was capable of taking over any game.
Giants defense has a chance to climb the ladder
Carter has 12.0 sacks a year ago and he led the nation with 24 tackles for loss. The All-American had 43 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles last year, and his success meant he came to the Giants with a boatload of confidence.
He has looked like a dominant player in the summer and he will have a chance to assert himself early in the season. The Giants will be up against it throughout the year, and they begin a brutal stretch in Week 3 when they face the Chiefs, Chargers, Saints, Eagles, Broncos and Eagles again in a six-week stretch.
If they are going to have any hope of success, it might come in the first two weeks of the season when they open with road games against the Commanders and Cowboys. The Giants will be clear underdogs in both games, but if the defense comes out firing and Carter can get to Jayden Daniels and Dak Prescott, a message will be sent to the rest of the league.
The Giants are going to play significantly better defense this year after finishing 24th in that category a year ago. The defensive front seven looks dangerous, and the combination of Carter and Brian Burns as the two outside pass rushers will lead the way.
Look for Carter to win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
The offense belongs to Russell Wilson — for now
Russell Wilson has an opportunity to jump-start the offense, just as he did with the Seahawks, Broncos and Steelers. As he approaches the 14th season of his career, he gets yet another opportunity to show that he can lead an offense to respectability.
The Giants had the 30th-ranked offense in the league last year and they were 28th in the passing game. However, one of the biggest reasons for that deficiency was their lack of consistency at the quarterback position. The Giants attempted to compete last year with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito under center. None of those players are still with the Giants.
Wilson may have flaws, but he is a major upgrade at the position. The Giants drafted Jaxson Dart and he had an excellent summer with the team and he has a chance to become their quarterback of the future. They also have strong-armed Jameis Winston, and while he made the team, he has a tendency to put the ball up for grabs.
One thing Wilson has always shown he can do is throw the long ball well, and he has a crew of talented receivers in Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and Wan'Dale Robinson. The Giants may not have the most consistent offense, but they should be able to make big plays on occasion and surprise opponents with their ability to put points on the board.
It will be one thing for Wilson to get off to a good start with his new team, but it will be quite difficult for the Giants to keep it together as the losses pile up. He will lose his starting job shortly after midseason and both Winston and Dart will get their opportunities to play this season.
Daboll will get fired at the end of the season
The Giants made the playoffs in shocking fashion during Daboll's first season as head coach in 2022. The Giants somehow won a road playoff game after earning a Wild Card spot, and many thought the team had turned a corner.
However, they were an awful 6-11 in the 2023 season before things got even worse last year. While the troubles the Giants had are not all Daboll's fault — he has not gotten much help from the front office — his in-game strategy and on-field personnel moves have fallen short.
The Giants could show improvement this year, but their brutal schedule will be the cause of their undoing. Daboll will not be back for a fifth season with the Giants.
