The new-look New York Giants have a different feel to them early in the season, and for good reason. Following another disappointing season last year, general manager Joe Schoen decided it was time to cut ties with his good friend and head coach, Brian Daboll.
After many interviews and a long process, Giants owner John Mara, along with Schoen, chose former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach and Super Bowl Champion John Harbaugh as the franchise’s new leader.
Harbaugh and Schoen worked together to completely reshape the roster entering the 2026 season. Even though it’s early, the changes have paid off in a big way.
However, not everything has gone to plan for the Giants.
The Injury Bug Bites Again
Early in week 2, New York’s up-and-coming franchise quarterback, Jaxson Dart, went down with a season-ending knee injury. Then, a week later, Giants star pass rusher Brian Burns went down with a knee injury of his own.
Still, with plenty of backups, Harbaugh and the Giants find themselves sitting alone atop the NFC East with a 3-1 record entering a Week 5 clash with the Washington Commanders.
Unfortunately for the Giants, Washington will be getting its franchise quarterback back this week in Jayden Daniels, who will make his first start since week 2 after dealing with an elbow injury.
Although New York had a pretty lengthy and worrisome injury report this week, it looks as if a few of its offensive stars who were limited in practice will be good to go in Landover, Maryland.
Quarterback Controversy
One of the topics of conversation in New Jersey the past couple weeks has been what to do at quarterback without Jaxson Dart. The team recently made Jameis Winston one of the highest paid backups in the NFL, so the answer to the quarterback question should be simple, right?
Well, in typical Jameis Winston fashion, the answer has been anything but simple. Over the past few weeks, he’s had his fair share of highs but far too many lows. This led to the Giants trading for former Vikings top-10 pick J.J. McCarthy.
Still, the Giants are winning games, and that’s the most important thing. Even after the Giants acquired McCarthy, Harbaugh has consistently said that Winston is the starting quarterback. However, if Winston continues to endanger the Giants with his inconsistency, it may only be a matter of time before the Giants turn to the younger and more athletic McCarthy. It doesn’t help Winston’s case that the Giants’ offense is far better designed for McCarthy, either.
Week 5 Gameplan
No matter who the quarterback is, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and the Giants will look to establish the run early in Week 5.
New York’s workhorse running back Cam Skattebo was one of the many offensive players on the injury report this week, but during his media availability on Friday afternoon, Skattebo said he’s ready.
“I already told Coach Nags, just give me the ball and we’ll be fine.”
If New York wants to improve to 4-1, it will need to start by doing just that. If the Giants can establish the run, that will open up the rest of the field for Winston and company to try to expose the Commanders’ weak secondary.
What’s Next?
The Giants are currently going through the softest window in their schedule. After Week 6, they will have gone through a four-week window in which they played the Titans, Cardinals, Commanders and Saints.
The back half of the season is when the Giants will really be tested. They will play the Jaguars, 49ers, Seahawks, Lions and Eagles twice.
With the current state of this roster, it's tough to imagine the Giants will keep themselves afloat in the standings through this stretch of the schedule, especially with how closely they are playing some of the worst teams in the league.
First things first, though. New York has to take care of what’s in front of it. Harbaugh has been adamant about the team taking it one week at a time instead of looking ahead.
Harbaugh and his staff have gotten this message across to the team by wearing a shirt that says “1-0” across the chest during practice, reinforcing the message of taking things one week at a time and not focusing on future opponents.
Although New York is 2-0 since they started wearing the shirts, its focus is on going 1-0 this week, next week and every week for the rest of the year.
