They were never really in it — playoff contention, that is — and currently are not officially out of it — as far as being mathematically eliminated.
But the reality of what awaits the Giants in the final three games of the season is it will come to an end after Week 18. Then they will go their separate ways and, if so inclined, will watch the postseason action from their individual homes across the country.
And so, what is there left to play for?
The Giants are 5-9, assured of a losing record for the seventh time in the past eight seasons — and for the 10th time in the past 12. Notice a trend here?
Sure, two of the three remaining games are against the Eagles, and yes, the Giants would enjoy inflicting some harm on their closest geographic NFC East rival.
Their ability to hang with and beat the Eagles is highly suspect: Heading into their Christmas Day game in Philadelphia, the Giants have lost four straight and 12 of their past 14 in the series.
There is something to play for, though, especially for those with something to prove — whether that means their contract is set to expire or they are expected to stay on the roster and hope to move up the depth chart in 2024.
Here are five Giants players who can use the final three games to help their cause for next season:
Evan Neal
The massive right tackle is just 23 years old, but he already faces a crisis point in his nascent NFL career. The only reason he cannot be labeled a bust is because there simply is not enough evidence yet to indict him. He is on his way, though, and if he does go bust, that is a massive hole to fill and a red mark on the ledger of general manager Joe Schoen, who selected Neal with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Neal’s rookie year was troubling, considering how highly touted he was coming out of Alabama. Neal started the first six games this season, and you don’t need any empirical data to reveal what we all saw: Neal was not close to good enough. He has missed the past five games and seven of the past eight due to two separate sprained ankles.
In his place, 26-year-old Tyre Phillips has been a serviceable starter. Neal needs to get back on the field and do something — anything — to close out his second NFL season that is positive to take with him into the offseason.
Jalin Hyatt
No one can say the skinny rookie wide receiver does not take all of this to heart. Hyatt was visibly disappointed as he gathered up his belongings on Sunday in the visitors locker room inside the Caesars Superdome after the 24-6 loss to the Saints. Hyatt was on the field for 44 snaps — 71 percent of the snaps on offense — and did not have any catches, failing to make a play on any of his three targets.
Hyatt has just 19 receptions and no touchdowns in his first season, but he leads the team with a reception average of 18.1 yards. He dropped into the third round of the 2023 draft despite excellent production at Tennessee, and he bristled at the suggestion that he was something of a one-trick pony, capable of getting down the field running deep routes but not much else.
Hyatt has yet to disprove that critique. He needs to get more physical and add some weight and muscle to his lithe 185-pound frame. Too often, Hyatt can be bodied off the ball when he is running slants and crossing routes. It happened in New Orleans in the second quarter when cornerback Paulson Adebo got the better of him.
Hyatt will be a big part of the plan on offense in 2024 in what will be a changed wide receiver room. Veterans Sterling Shepard and Parris Campbell will not be back, and Isaiah Hodgins is not signed beyond this season. A few splash plays down the stretch should help Hyatt springboard into his second NFL season.
Micah McFadden
Here is a young inside linebacker (23) who took a quantum leap forward in his second season. McFadden, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick out of Indiana, did some nice things as he started seven games as a rookie, and he progressed in a big way this season.
In 13 starts, he is third on the team with 85 tackles. Impressively, he is tied with Kayvon Thibodeaux for the team lead with 12 tackles for loss, and leads the entire defense with three forced fumbles. McFadden also has one interception, and has shown he is not overmatched when asked to drop into coverage. Bobby Okereke was the one big-ticket free agent signed, and he has been everything the Giants hoped he would be, emerging as a team leader and director of the entire defense. It looks as if Okereke has found a tag-team partner in McFadden, who at 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds does not possess intimidating size but packs a punch and is around the ball often enough to make things happen.
Unless Wink Martindale does not return and a new defensive coordinator has a different idea for what he wants at inside linebacker, McFadden appears squarely in the plans in 2024.
Jason Pinnock
What do the Giants have in this guy? Pinnock is certainly athletic enough, and at 6-feet and 200 pounds, he has good size for a safety. He has a sense for the ball and can do something with it when he gets his hands on it, as evidenced by his 102-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Dolphins.
The front office made what it thought was a solid offer to re-sign Julian Love, but he accepted slightly less money to join the Seahawks. Love was a star in Monday night’s upset victory over the Eagles with two interceptions, the second of which sealed the game.
How the coaching staff feels about the 24-year-old Pinnock could be a part of the decision-making process with Xavier McKinney set to become a free agent. McKinney has picked up the pace and has played extremely well during the second half of this season. He is expected to seek a contract to put him among the highest-paid safeties in the league. The Giants might not be inclined to extend themselves that far financially.
If not, do they view Pinnock as a No. 1 safety in their defense? He is signed for 2024 for the bargain price of $1.05 million. A strong finish could help sway the vote on him.
Tommy DeVito
You didn’t think we would forget about this guy, did you?
DeVito would not have made this list if it were put together a month ago, but here he is, trying to establish a foothold in the NFL, something that felt highly unlikely as he got paid week-to-week on the practice squad as an undrafted rookie. The mania surrounding his Jersey/Italian/chicken cutlets/living at home backstory, added to his fine play on the field as the Giants won three consecutive games, was a welcome addition to a sad, sorry season. The Giants were 2-8 and showing few signs of competitive football life.
The magic ride ended in the Big Easy, and what comes next is the Big Difficult: Can DeVito close out the season by convincing the front office and the coaching staff that he is a viable option in 2024 as a backup quarterback? Or, dare we say it, more than that?
He has attempted 160 passes, the exact same number as Daniel Jones did before he went down and out with a torn ACL. Jones completed a slightly higher percentage (67.5 for Jones, 64.4 for DeVito), but DeVito has thrown for more yards (1,032 for DeVito, 909 for Jones) and has the big edge in touchdown passes (eight for DeVito, two for Jones). Jones had six interceptions, DeVito has three.
This does not have to be an either-or situation. Jones is expected to have recovered following knee surgery and likely will be the starter once again, given the financial commitment the Giants have in him. His 2024 salary is $35.5 million. He isn’t going anywhere.
If DeVito can show steady improvement, perhaps that influences when or if the Giants add a quarterback in the draft and what caliber of free agent they add at the position this offseason.
Hit the sack
The one-week respite from operating as sad sacks came to an end in New Orleans, when the Giants gave up seven sacks, six days after not allowing any in a victory over the Packers.
The unholy sack total is now at 76 for the season, which is incredibly bad. The Giants lead the NFL by a wide margin. The Jets (61), Commanders (59), Panthers (54) and Titans (50) round out the top five, or more accurately, the bottom five.
Here is the breakdown:
Tommy DeVito: 35 sacks
Daniel Jones: 30 sacks
Tyrod Taylor: 10 sacks
Parris Campbell: one sack
The 76 sacks have produced 423 yards in losses. At their current pace, the Giants will give up 16 more sacks to finish with 93 sacks. Unless the floodgates become unhinged, the Giants should not be in range of challenging the NFL record for sacks given up in a season, held by the Washington franchise, with 104 in 1986.
Asked and answered
Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:
Thibodeaux did not do much of anything in the game against the Saints. What happened?
It happens. Thibodeaux was on the field for 90 percent of the snaps on defense (56 of 62), and yes, he did not show up much on the stat sheet. He had one tackle and … that’s it. No sacks, no tackles for loss, no quarterback hits. Thibodeaux is the Giants’ sack leader with 11.5 and one of their most active defensive players, but this was not his finest moment. Again, it happens. The Cowboys beat the Giants, 49-17, in Week 10 and the great Micah Parsons did not register a single stat: no tackles, no quarterback hits, no nothing. Thibodeaux, who turned 23 last Friday, is still so young. He remains an ascending player, but is far from a finished product.
What would have happened if the game in New Orleans was close and the Giants needed a field goal to win it, considering their kicker was hurt?
Yeah, that would have been interesting. Punter Jamie Gillan, who also handled the place-kicking role in college at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, had attempted one field goal in his five-year NFL career, back in 2020 with the Browns (he missed from 61 yards). Gillan said he never practices kicking field goals. But he has an incredibly strong left leg, and he looked fine nailing a 40-yard field goal just before halftime against the Saints. There is a good chance the Giants would have gone for the two-point conversion if they scored a touchdown in the second half and might have gone for it on fourth down, rather than send Gillan out for another field-goal try, unless it was from close range. The Giants could not keep the game close and did not get inside the Saints’ 20-yard line, so we will never know.