Five reasons to believe in the Giants this postseason

By Ralph Vacchiano
Published

Giants fans of a certain age will remember that neither of their last two Super Bowl champions were regular-season powerhouses. The 2007 champs went the wild-card route with a 10-6 record. The 2011 champs were 9-7 and got into the playoffs only by beating the Cowboys in an all-or-nothing season finale.

So why can't history repeat itself for this 9-7-1 Giants team?

"We're definitely not satisfied just to have made the playoffs," said Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. "That's not how we see it as a group. We were confident in our team dating back to training camp and knew what we were able to accomplish. We're by no means satisfied just to be in the playoffs.

"We expect to play well and to win."

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The confidence is nice, but this team isn't quite up to the standards of either the '07 or '11 champs. They are lacking at talent in too many key positions. There's been a feeling all season that they've somehow been playing over their head.

And perhaps most importantly, they didn't exactly roll into the postseason. They got here thanks mostly to a remarkable 6-1 start. They went 2-5-1 over their last eight games.

Yet their confidence remains intact.

"We've won a lot of close games, and we've done a lot of key things in critical situations," said safety Julian Love. "Right now, everyone is fired up. Once you're in the playoffs, the attention to detail heightens and when we're on our details, this team, the sky is the limit."

Maybe the Giants are right. Starting Sunday in Minnesota (4:30 p.m. ET on FOX), maybe they really can shock the NFL and do some actual postseason damage. They certainly believe it's possible.

Here are five reasons for everyone else to believe it, too:

1. Daniel Jones has a knack for finding a way

The numbers for the Giants quarterback won't jump off the page, but he's been outstanding considering what he has to work with. None of his current receivers was in the top five on the depth chart at training camp, or would make the top four on most playoff teams. Yet Jones still completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns — while being sacked 44 times.

He's proven to be one of the top running quarterbacks in football. Even with teams often loading up to stop Saquon Barkley, Jones has made them pay by becoming an RPO weapon, rushing 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. More often than not, Jones on the run has been the Giants' most efficient play.

The Giants offense isn't great, but Jones has had to do almost everything himself to make it work even a little. Somehow, he does — including three weeks ago against the Vikings, when he torched their defense for 334 passing yards.

2. The Giants are very careful with the football

Nothing indicates the winner of a game quite like turnover differentials, and turnovers have been a problem for the Giants in recent years. But not this year. Coach Brian Daboll made that a point of emphasis from his first day, knowing his undermanned team just couldn't afford too many mistakes.

The Giants turned the ball over just 16 times this season — the second-lowest total in the league. Jones was among the league leaders with five interceptions, including just one in his last six starts (at Minnesota). In fact, he went without an interception in 11 of his last 13 starts. He also fumbled only six times, losing just three, correcting a problem that plagued him early in his career.

3. Saquon Barkley is a sleeping giant

The 26-year-old Barkley is one of the most talented running backs in the league, and if he ever ran behind a good offensive line he might break some records. He had a career year with 1,312 rushing yards, but he has appeared to be in a bit of a slump since mid-November. His last 100-yard game was Nov. 13 (152 vs. Houston) and he's only averaged 54.4 yards per game since then.

But that's deceiving. Not only has Barkley been battling a shoulder injury, but he has actually averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his past three games. The Giants have started to use him more as a receiver, too. And his game against the Vikings on Christmas Eve was excellent. He averaged 6 yards per carry (14 carries, 84 yards) and he had his best receiving day of the season (8 catches, 49 yards). He's like a secret weapon that shouldn't be that much of a secret.

4. The Giants are a fourth-quarter team (or at least they believe they are)

They have lived all season by the Daboll-inspired philosophy of dragging their opponents to the deep end of the pool (the fourth quarter) so they can drown them. And they've needed it, too, because most of their games have come down to those final 15 minutes. The Giants have entered the fourth quarter with a lead only five times all year. They've won games in the fourth quarter — coming back from a tie or a deficit — six times. And they've only blown a lead they've carried into the fourth quarter once.

Now, keep in mind those six fourth-quarter comebacks all came in the first seven games, so they haven't done it since Oct. 23. And the one fourth-quarter lead they blew was in Minnesota on Christmas Eve. Still, the Giants have won more fourth quarters than they've lost. They're rank fifth in the NFL with 125 fourth-quarter points (while giving up 100). Of course, the Vikings are actually a better fourth-quarter team. They led the NFL in fourth-quarter scoring with 169 points, outscoring their opponents 169-91 — nearly five points per game.

5. Wink Martindale's defense can be very disruptive

The Giants are undermanned at almost every position and went long stretches without their best corner (Adoree' Jackson), best safety (Xavier McKinney) and one of their best linemen (Leonard Williams). Statistically, only seven NFL defenses are worse.

But they hang on because Martindale is a master at sending pressure from everywhere, keeping quarterbacks guessing and constantly on the move. The Giants defense has blitzed on nearly 40% of its plays, which is far more than any other team. They've manufactured 41 sacks (13th in the NFL) even though no one has more than 7.5 (DT Dexter Lawrence). And to show their variety, 18 different players have at least one sack.

New York's pass rush is not always effective (its pass rush grade of 68.7 by Pro Football Focus ranks just 20th in the league), but it definitely keeps opponents on guard.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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