For nearly this whole season, it was exceedingly troublesome for the Giants to search out methods to win video games, which is why heading into Week 17 they owned the worst report within the league and have been in possession of the No. 1 choose within the 2025 NFL Draft.
That possession was short-term.
Beating the Colts 45-33 within the season’s penultimate recreation dropped the Giants into the No. 4 spot within the draft.
And now, with the Eagles — locked into the No. 2 seed within the NFL for the playoffs — opting to relaxation Saquon Barkley and most or all of their high gamers for Sunday’s recreation at Lincoln Monetary Discipline, the Giants will go in opposition to predominantly backups, rising the chance that they declare their fourth win.
In the event that they do, they may drop even deeper into the primary spherical, probably falling as far down because the No. 9 total choose.
Starters vs. backups this weekend.
“It’s the NFL … numerous guys are starters,’’ quarterback Drew Lock stated. “Backups are nonetheless actually good gamers. Whether or not it’s a mixture of them, it doesn’t matter. These are nice gamers, finest on the planet. You’ve bought to deal with them as such.’’
Barkley will finish his first season with the Eagles with 2,005 speeding yards, 101 away from Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL report.
His best speeding season for the Giants was 1,312 yards in 2022.
The Eagles are 13-3 with Barkley. The Giants are 3-13 with out him.
“I’d say they’ve got a good football team, and Saquon’s a good football player,” head coach Brian Daboll stated. “Got a lot of wins, productive, good team.”
Requested if the Eagles have a extra run-heavy method with Barkley, Daboll stated, “I imply, he’s bought 2,000 yards, so yeah.’’
The Giants signed Ihmir Smith-Marsette after their season-opening loss to the Vikings, a pickup made obligatory when the first kick and punt returner, Gunner Olszewski, reinjured his groin.
Smith-Marsette stabilized the return recreation and this week he was named the NFC Particular Groups Participant of the Week for his 100-yard kickoff return for a landing in opposition to the Colts
Smith-Marsette, a 2021 fifth-round draft choose of the Vikings, was additionally with the Bears, Chiefs and Panthers earlier than hooking on with the Giants.
He’s a local of Newark who starred at Weequahic Excessive Faculty. He’s averaging 34.6 yards on kickoffs and seven.5 yards on punt returns.
“He’s a pretty good returner,” Daboll stated. “He’s done a nice job. He had the one against the Saints that got called back. It was a punt return. Obviously, he had this one. He made some other good ones in Dallas. He’s done a nice job of handling the ball. Good teammate. He’s got a great personality about him. Happy we have him.”
4 gamers didn’t follow: ILB Micah McFadden (neck), C John Michael Schmitz (ankle), RT Evan Neal (rib/hip) and DT Armon Watts, who went down versus the Colts and underwent season-ending knee surgical procedure.
