New York Giants’ Last Season Performance
The Giants had yet another lackluster season in 2021, missing the playoffs for the fifth season in a row. New York, dealing with multiple injuries, finished last in the NFC East at 4-13.
The Giants started the season slowly, going 0-3 before winning their first game in Week 4, an overtime victory over the Saints. New York was up and down for the next few weeks prior to ending the season on a six-game losing streak.
While the offense finished the season in the bottom two in the NFL in yards per game with 287.3 and points per game with 15.2, New York’s defense did slightly better, finishing 21st in yards per game with 354.8 yards. Both units will be looking to improve in 2022.
New York Giants Key Additions
The Giants added a few players in the offseason.
New York made upgrades to its offensive line with the additions of guards Mark Glowinski and Max Garcia and offensive lineman Jon Feliciano. Glowinski signed a three-year deal with the team while Garcia is on a one-year contract. Feliciano, who will play center, inked a one-year deal as well.
The Giants also found a solid backup option in quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who signed a two-year contract, while running back Matt Breida, on a one-year contract, brings more depth to the position.
Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, defensive tackle Justin Ellis and linebacker Jihad Ward also join on one-year deals.
New York Giants Key Subtractions
The Giants also let quite a few players walk, starting with the secondary.
Cornerback James Bradberry and safeties Logan Ryan and Jabril Peppers found other teams. Bradberry was second on the team last season in interceptions with four, also recording 17 passes defended and 47 tackles, while Ryan was second in total tackles with 117. He also had one sack and eight passes defended.
Tight ends Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph also moved on in the offseason. Engram finished last season with 46 receptions for 408 yards and three touchdowns while Rudolph recorded 26 receptions for 257 yards and one touchdown in 2021.
New York released one of its top rushers in Devontae Booker as well. Booker led the Giants with 145 rushes for a co-leading 593 yards and two touchdowns.
Linebackers Lorenzo Carter and Benardrick McKinney and defensive tackle Austin Johnson all moved on as well.
New York Giants Head Coach Analysis
After two losing seasons under head coach Joe Judge, the Giants axed him following the 2021 season. New York began its hunt for its 20th head coach, eventually landing on Brian Daboll.
Daboll will be entering his first stint as a head coach after spending many years as an offensive coordinator. He was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, spending four seasons with the team. Daboll helped lead the Bills to AFC East titles in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, Buffalo’s offense finished third in the NFL in scoring with 28.4 points per game and fifth in offense with 381.9 yards per game under Daboll.
The Giants’ offense should start to see a much-needed improvement with Daboll in charge.
New York Giants Injured Players at the Beginning of the Season
New York was riddled with injuries in 2021, and it appears the team will continue to have issues heading into 2022.
The Giants have a number of players starting out the season on injured reserve. Guard Marcus McKethan, linebacker Darrain Beavers, tight ends Ricky Seals-Jones and Andre Miller, and wide receivers Collin Johnson and Marcus Kemp are all on injured reserve.
Offensive tackle Matt Peart and center Nick Gates were both placed on the PUP list, with the expectation that they will return in Week 5 after both suffered injuries last season.
A large number of players are also questionable for the first week of the season. Cornerbacks Rodarius Williams and Cor’Dale Flott, wide receivers Darius Slayton, C.J. Board, Sterling Shepard, and Kadarius Toney, safety Dane Belton, running backs Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell are all questionable.
Linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux, Jihad Ward, Azeez Ojulari, and Elerson Smith, offensive guards Joshua Ezeudu, Ben Bredeson, Shane Lemieux, Jon Feliciano and Jamil Douglas, offensive tackle Garrett McGhin, kicker Graham Gano and defensive end Leanard Williams are also all questionable.
New York Giants Offense
With a new head coach, the Giants also added an offensive coordinator in Mike Kafka, who spent the past two seasons as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach.
Kafka will look to help quarterback Daniel Jones and the offense take steps forward, however with injuries nagging, that may be tough. The wide receiver room has been hit with a number of injuries, leaving the options limited. Kenny Golladay will look to be one of the main guys again after leading New York in receiving yards last season, finishing with 37 receptions for 521 yards. Toney and Shepard, while currently dealing with injuries, will also look to play a role.
Running back Saquon Barkley hopes to stay healthy and be the main back. In 13 games last season, Barkley finished with 162 rushes for 593 yards and two touchdowns.
Although it has been dealing with injuries as well, if the offensive line can get healthy, the squad should see an upgrade.
If the Giants can get healthy, with a new OC at the head, New York should hope to improve on its poor performance from a season ago.
New York Giants Defense
The Giants defense also got a new coordinator with Don Martindale joining the coaching staff after being the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for the last four seasons.
The front seven will return top performers in linebacker Tae Crowder, defensive end Williiams, and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Crowder led the team with 130 total tackles last season, recording two interceptions and three tackles for loss as well.
Williams finished 2021 with 6.5 sacks, which was second on the team, as well as 81 tackles and five tackles for loss, while Lawrence had 2.5 sacks, 54 tackles, and five tackles for loss.
Linebacker Azeez Ojulari returns after leading the team in sacks with eight, recording eight tackles for loss and 49 total tackles.
Safeties Xavier McKinney and Julian Love as well as cornerback Adoree’ Jackson will be the secondary’s strengths from last season. McKinney led the Giants with five interceptions and had 10 passes defended and 93 total tackles while Love with 66 total tackles, seven passes defended, and one interception. Jackson recorded 62 tackles, eight passes defended, and one interception in 2021.
The defense is also dealing with injuries, but a new DC should bring hope for a better showing.
New York Giants Special Teams
The Giants fared decently on special teams last season, with solid finishes in the return and kicking game.
New York will bring back its kicker Gano, who was the Giants’ top scorer last season with 104 points. Gano was 29-for-33 on field goals and 17-for-17 on extra points.
The Giants return game also did fairly well, with wide receivers Board and Pharoh Cooper taking most of the kickoffs while Cooper and Jabrill Peppers handled many of the punts. Board averaged 24.8 yards per kick return while Cooper averaged 17.3 yards per kick return and 8.2 yards per punt return. Peppers averaged 6.4 yards. With Cooper and Peppers both now gone and Board injured for the time being, New York will have to find some new returners.
The punting was where the Giants lacked last season, with punter Riley Dixon averaging 39.5 net average punt yards. New York released Dixon in the offseason, signing punter Jamie Gillan. Gillan was with Cleveland last season, where he had a net punting average of 39.5 yards.
With Gano coming back, the Giants will be able to rely on their kicking unit once more to bring consistency.
New York Giants Prediction for the 2022 Season
Going into the 2022 season, the Giants have a new coaching staff, although injuries stacking up has made optimism hard to come by.
Bringing in a new offensive-minded coach in Daboll should help and start the Giants on their way toward progress. However, it might take a couple of years to get there.
The Giants missed the playoffs for the fifth season in a row in 2021, and are likely to miss them again this year. With some stronger teams in the NFC East, last place isn’t a risky bet for this team.
New York Giants Final Thoughts
After the Giants declined quarterback Jones’ fifth-year option on his rookie contract this past offseason, the former Duke star will be looking to earn another contract with strong play.
Barkley is another who will be looking to earn a new contract in 2022, but injuries led to him missing plenty of games and a down season last year. Now, he’ll be looking to get back to his pre-injury form.
With two of New York’s top players looking to make some money next season, as well as Daboll now the coach, the Giants should see positive strides in their offense.
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New York Giants FAQs
How many Super Bowls have the Giants won?
The Giants have won four Super Bowls, in the 1986, 1990, 2007, and 2011 seasons.
What is the origin of the New York Giants team name?
Tim Mara bought New York’s football team in 1925. The New York Giants were already a successful baseball team by the time Mara purchased the team, so he decided to use the same name for the football team, with the teams also sharing a stadium, the Polo Grounds. The baseball team got its name from New York’s giant buildings.
Why do they call them the ‘New York Football Giants?’
Since there was both a baseball and football team called the New York Giants, the Giants changed their name to the New York Football Giants to distinguish themselves. The baseball team moved to San Francisco in 1957.
Who do the Giants share a stadium with?
The Giants share a stadium with the New York Jets, both teams play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
