Here we go with the New York Giants 2020 season review. This team definitely outperformed expectations as many thought they would be third or fourth in the division. As you’ll see, many surprises helped them to almost make the playoffs.
New York Giants Struggle Out of the Gates
The Giants started out their season playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. They had two different leads in this game until Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense finally woke up. Roethlisberger threw 3 touchdowns and that would be enough to hand the Giants a 26-16 Week 1 loss. The Giants followed that up by going to Chicago. The Bears scored 17 unanswered in the first half to make it 17-0. That would be all they scored as the Giants’ defense figured them out, but the 17 points would be enough as the Giants couldn’t score more than 13. Making matters worse, the Giants lost Saquon Barkley for the season in this game to a torn ACL.
The New York Giants next hosted the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers. Nick Mullens started at quarterback in place of the injured Jimmy Garapolo. He wound up throwing for 343 yards and a touchdown as the 49ers rolled 36-9. The Giants then went across the country for a road matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. This game was very defensive as both teams combined for just 535 total yards. The Rams found the end zone twice for the 17-9 win.
Giants Show Signs of Improvement Against NFC East Foes
The New York Giants next faced the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys in a matchup between two teams in turmoil. The Giants quickly got out to a 17-3 lead in the second quarter but squandered it before halftime. New York got the lead back with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, but two late Greg Zuerlein field goals spelled their demise.
The Giants looked to end their winless start against another divisional opponent the following week in the Washington Football Team. New York’s offense could not get anything going, but the defense came up with a scoop and score fumble recovery to bail them out. Washington scored with 36 seconds to go and instead of kicking a PAT to tie it up, Riverboat Ron went for the win. The ensuing 2-point conversion try failed and the Giants escaped with their first win of the year, 20-19.
To close out their three-game stint against the rest of the NFC East, the New York Giants traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. So many mistakes were made by the Giants in the game. None got more media coverage than Daniel Jones tripping over himself on the 20-yard line on his way to what should’ve been a touchdown. The Giants still had a chance, but Evan Engram dropped a pass that would’ve iced the game. The Eagles scored the final 12 points on their way to a comeback victory.
New York Giants Defense Continues Strong Play
The Giants looked to right the ship against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants actually looked good in the first half as they led 14-6. Then Tom Brady took over and led the Bucs back. With 28 seconds to go, Daniel Jones found Golden Tate, but New York could not get the necessary two-point conversion. Tampa Bay held on for the 25-23 win.
The New York Giants faced Washington for the second time in Week 9. The Giants’ defense was once again the difference-maker in this game as they came up with five turnovers. That being said, this game was closer than it should have been. New York ultimately won 23-20. Then, the Eagles came north for a game against the Giants. This time, Daniel Jones kept his balance and scored on a 34-yard run. The Giants never looked back from that as they would win 27-17. New York went into their bye week with a 3-7 record.
Giants Boost Playoff Hopes with Winning Streak
Would the New York Giants be able to keep up their winning streak after the bye? Yes, but this one came at a cost. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Giants got the 19-17 win, but Daniel Jones got hurt in the process. He was forced to miss the next game against the Seattle Seahawks. As it turned out, the Giants didn’t even need him. With Colt McCoy under center, the Giants pulled off the massive upset win over Seattle with a final of 17-12. If the final score was any indication, this was yet another stellar performance by the Giants’ defense.
New York Giants Fail to Sustain Success
Daniel Jones made his return the following week to face the Arizona Cardinals. It was a brutal offensive performance. Haasan Reddick and the Cards’ defense stopped the New York Giants on all but one of their drives as Arizona won 26-7.
The following week’s home game against the Cleveland Browns was flexed to Sunday Night Football. The Giants were pretty much manhandled by the Browns from the start with the final score being 20-6. The next game against the Baltimore Ravens was not any better. The Ravens were able to go for over 400 yards of total offense on route to a 27-13 victory.
Despite the two setbacks, the New York Giants weren’t out of the playoff race just yet though. With a Week 17 win against the Dallas Cowboys and a Washington loss, the Giants would win the NFC East title. The Giants did their part and had to wait for Sunday Night Football to see if they were going to the postseason Any chance they had essentially went out the window when the Eagles decided to bench Jalen Hurts for Nate Sudfeld in the second half.
New York Giants Offseason About Taking the Next Steps
Following Washington’s win to clinch the NFC East, New York Giants’ players took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the Eagles quarterback decision In reality though, a six-win team should be nowhere near the playoffs. The Giants have the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft this year. How they spend it will be critical to continuing their improvement in 2021.
