The Giants need to do this for New York and New Jersey, not just themselves.
Joe Judge’s 0-5 team needs its first win and has a chance as three-point favorites on Sunday against visiting Washington (1-4) at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets (0-5) look like they won’t get their next win until after a new U.S. President is sworn in, so it is up to the Giants and only the Giants to get this done.
This is the first 0-10 combined start in New York football history, and it has gotten so bad that even Vegas is shaking its collective head.
DraftKings Head of Sportsbook Johnny Avello says the laugher future odds on the Giants and Jets as Super Bowl contenders are unprecedented.
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“These odds are the two highest of all the teams in the NFL,” Avello said Friday. “In all my years in the business, I don’t recall this happening.”
Sportsbooks willing to go even steeper with their odds have done it with both teams. BetOnline has the Jets at 2000-to-1 to win the Super Bowl and the Giants at 1000-to-1.
But BetOnline at least gives the Giants a significant edge on the Jets to be the first to win a game and to win more total games in 2020 (Giants 1-to-3; Jets 2-to-1 on both).
So it’s time for Judge’s squad to erase the donut from the Big Apple’s win column on Sunday.
If they don’t? The individual who may have the most to lose from a pitiful performance is quarterback Daniel Jones.
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GM Dave Gettleman’s imminent departure is a foregone conclusion with a league-worst 9-28 record since the start of 2018, a below-average draft record, and a roster lacking talent.
Judge is here to oversee a long-term rebuild of the Giants"" process and personnel that only just began here in 2020.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett certainly is receiving close scrutiny for an offense that has scored just five touchdowns in five games.
But Jones is under the microscope with the Giants possibly headed for another high pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Losing to Washington with 2018 undrafted free agent Kyle Allen starting would be bad, especially if Jones handed the opposition more points with untimely turnovers. That is exactly what could happen in Sunday’s worst-case scenario, too, because the Giants"" offensive line has struggled badly and Washington’s defensive front is no joke.
Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles, who took a 17-0 lead on Washington in Week 1 but wore down over four quarters in a 27-17 loss thanks to Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and company on the D-line.
The spotlight on Jones will only get brighter with a loss to Washington on Sunday. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
“We haven’t gotten the results that we would have hoped for to this point, but I think every week we go in expecting to win,” Jones said of the Giants this week. “We go in expecting to execute at a high level and play our game. We’re confident. Washington is a good team, they’re a good defense, and they do a lot of good things. We’ll have to prepare and be ready to play.”
Jones so far has had some bright moments in his career, of course. He had four or more touchdowns in four of his 12 rookie starts last season. One of those games was a five-TD pass performance in a Week 16 win at Washington. And after all the 2019 draft-day debates about Jones versus Dwayne Haskins, it is Haskins who has been banished to the basement of Washington’s depth chart for transgressions seemingly still untold, while Jones remains under center in New York.
As far as landing a quarterback who seems to get it, the Giants believe they have their man.
“If it is something in the genes, I think Daniel has it,” quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski said this week. “This guy’s a fiery competitor. I promise you no one takes a loss harder than he does. Having the opportunity to see this guy in the locker room after every game, it’s been a crushing couple games for him. He’s got the makeup to do it, and we’ll keep giving him those opportunities, and hopefully they keep coming up.”
But even with some skillful escapes from the pocket and chemistry with Darius Slayton last Sunday at Dallas, Jones had two enormous letdowns: another sack fumble returned for a Cowboys TD, and a late five-and-out possession that gave Dallas the ball for its game-winning drive.
Jones"" final drive interception in Los Angeles in Week 4 iced the Giants"" loss to the Rams, as well.
Judge continued to defend Jones this week.
“I’m very pleased with his effort, his attitude, his leadership on the team,” the head coach said. “The guys respond to him. Daniel’s our guy and we’re going with him.”
Still, Garrett’s conservative offense still looks cumbersome for the young QB, who at least scored some points under Pat Shurmur last season. And the harsh reality is that Jones has two touchdowns and eight turnovers on the season, and no touchdown passes since Week 1.
Schuplinski insisted Jones is “resilient” and said that while young players sometimes “take some lumps, by no means do I think [Jones] is shell-shocked.”
“I’m really not worried about it with him,” the QB coach said. “He’s trying to do the best he can on every play. I haven’t seen anything that would give me concern for that.”
But a turnover-filled loss to Washington just might tip the scales toward the Giants genuinely questioning if he can ever be the one.
Not to mention, with the Dolphins poised to drown the Jets to 0-6 on Sunday, a loss would call into question when on Earth a New York football team will ever get the first win of the 2020 NFL season.