Giants Kickoff: Three things to watch for in Week 10

I'll make this one quick, the Giants are in a spiraling tailspin with no end in sight. They've limped their way through 9 weeks and week 10 doesn't get any easier. Cowboys week. Kickoff is slated for 4:25pm EST from Jerry's World in Dallas. The Giants are a 17.5 point underdog. That is the largest point spread across the entire NFL this season.

Tank for Caleb Williams activated

You know it. I know it. The entire NFL knows it. Hell, my dog even knows it. The Giants are in tank mode. After last week's drubbing at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders coupled with the loss of Daniel Jones to a torn ACL, all hope is lost for the 2023 Giants.

Listen, I want to see this team win more than anything and last year's run to the playoffs was awesome. But there are massive problems with this team on the offensive side of the ball and it begins with the quarterback position. Yes, the argument could be put forth that the offensive line is in shambles or that the wide receiving corps is at most average but the quarterback makes a team go. I was an ardent Daniel Jones stan for the better part of his career and genuinely wanted to see him succeed. However, he hasn't shown me, or the rest of Giants nation, enough to warrant that he is indeed the Giants quarterback of the future.

As of this writing, the Giants hold the number three overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Chicago has Justin Fields and Arizona still has Kyler Murray so it will be interesting to see by the end of the season - if this indeed is the final order - if either of those teams pull the trigger on Caleb Williams. I'd lean toward yes at this rate but so much can change with nine weeks left in the season. Here is the top five as it stands right now heading into week 10.

Per Tankathon

Caleb Williams is a generational talent and a guy that will turn an organization around. Similar to the turnaround that Joe Burrow brought to the Bengals after going number 1 overall in 2020, there is an argument to be had that Williams will have the same type of impact. Just look at this throw from last week's game against Washington. He is incredible and can turn this Giants team around in one season.

The bright spots

There are certainly individual players and position groups on this team that warrant watching and it's been fun seeing the young guys on offense and defense show improvement week-over-week. Players like Dexter Lawrence, Micah McFadden, Bobby Okereke, Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt have given Giants fans some hope for the future.

Lawrence signed a four year extension in May and is locked in for the long run. Dex currently ranks second in the NFL in pass rush win rate amongst defensive tackles, trailing only Jalen Carter of the Philadelphia Eagles. Bobby Okereke came over from the Colts this past offseason and has injected energy into a linebacking corps that has been a glaring weakness of this team for the better part of the past 10 years. It can be said that Okereke's play and leadership has directly effected the development of Micah McFadden who has considerably improved compared to where he was at last season. All you need to do is watch the below video, those two are in lock-step with one another.

CeeDee Lamb likes to line up in the slot, meaning that he may be lining up opposite Cor'Dale Flott for a better part of the game. If not Flott, it will be Deonte Banks taking on coverage opportunities against Lamb. That makes me both excited and nervous for two of the youngest players on the Giants defense. Lamb has heated up recently, hauling in 30 receptions and tallying 466 receiving yards over the past three weeks. This will be a great challenge for two of the Giants' most important secondary pieces of the future.

Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt have flashed their potential this season. Quarterback woes have ultimately stunted their development a bit, but I don't expect them to be seeing any less snaps anytime soon. As I wrote about in my week 7 post, Hyatt and Robinson are seeing a much larger snap share as the coaching staff has shifted gears to their development. Just like how Flott and Banks are key youth pieces to the Giants secondary, Hyatt and Robinson are the key youth pieces to the Giants offense of the future.

The Giants are 3-12 against Dallas since 2016

I grappled with adding this section to the write up this week, but ultimately felt that it was too glaring of a stat to overlook. The Giants have been historically bad against the Cowboys over the last eight seasons proving that until further notice, the glory days of Giants vs Cowboys are behind us. It makes Andy Bernard's quote from The Office so much more impactful "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."

Not since January 3, 2021 have the Giants beaten the Dallas Cowboys. In that game, Wayne Gallman was the Giants leading rusher and Andy Dalton started at quarterback for the Cowboys. They haven't won a game in Dallas since the 2016 season, when Eli Manning was quarterback and Odell Beckham Jr. was our top wideout.

Per statmuse.com

Three whole wins against Dallas since 2016 is a real shame. Just to put it into perspective of how bad it's been over recent years, the Giants were 8-8 against Dallas in the eight seasons prior to 2016 (2008-2015) with the rivalry reaching it's peak during those years. One game out of the 16 played during that timeframe was settled by more than 20 points. There have been four games since 2016 settled by more than 20 points and the Giants were on the losing side in all four.

Final Thoughts

Today's chances are not all that great for the Giants, and their current losing streak against Dallas may extend to six by game's end. The offensive struggles will most likely continue as Tommy Devito tries to figure things out and adjust to starter reps. The Cowboys defense will be relentless and will certainly try to throw Devito off course all day long. The Giants will need to lean on Saquon Barkley to carry the workload, but Dallas is 14th in the league in rush yards allowed per game and has averaged roughly 85 yards to opposing running backs over the last three weeks. The run game may not be effective either.

It'll be a tough day all around for the Giants, but I'm just grateful that we get another week of Giants football no matter how bad it gets. I like to think of it like this, the past 10 years have been disastrous, it can't get any worse right? Right? We'll see. Go Giants.