Playoffs Or Not, The New York Giants Have Had A Successful 2018

New York Giants
Nov 18, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants safety Michael Thomas (31) celebrates a 2nd quarter interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

When the 2018 season began for the New York Giants most fans and analysts had little expectation in terms of overall success. The 2017 campaign set the team up for a porous year, especially with the turnover of the roster and coaching staff. It takes about one full season for players and coaches to build chemistry and implement new systems across the board.

The ultimate goal of the current season was to develop a “winning culture.”

What exactly is a winning culture?

Middling teams in the NFL seldom learn the process of rebounding from a tough loss. The idea behind success is how well you can overcome obstacles and still manage to achieve the ultimate goal – winning. First-year head coach for the Giants Pat Shurmur made it apparent that accountability would be atop the list of priorities. This idea would attest to the release of Ereck Flowers and Patrick Omameh, two players that failed to live up to expectations.

The New York Giants have found a way to win:

The Giants have turned their season around since the BYE week, winning four of their last five games, one of which was a stellar 30-point performance against the Chicago Bears two weeks ago. But, the excitement from that victory isn’t the most impressive part of the season so far, it was after the devastating loss to the Eagles in week 12. The Giants bounced right back to beat the Bears in a tough game, then, they obliterated a weak Redskins team, showing how a good team takes care of business.

In the last four weeks, the Giants have enjoyed three games with 30-points or more, which proves that Shurmur’s system does, in fact, work. The focus has been primarily on Saquon Barkely who has received 20-touches or more in three of the games, only recording 20-touches once before the BYE week.

Barkley’s heavy usage has kept the opposing defense busy near the line of scrimmage while Eli Manning has been given ample time to operate the offense by reading the coverages. Now, it’s also important to recognize the play of the offensive line, which has improved greatly since earlier in the year. Left tackle Nate Solder has been magnificent, Will Hernandez has improved every week, and the acquisition of Jamon Brown has been a revelation for an offense lacking support on the right side.

Moving forward, we should expect the line to continue playing well – GM Dave Gettleman will likely bolster the right tackle position during the 2019 offseason – while Eli Manning makes a case for himself to remain the Giants’ starter for at least one more year.

The Giants, believe it or not, are just 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the NFC. With a little luck on their side and three consecutive wins, Big Blue could find themselves battling for the last playoff spot in a New Years day matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.