Experts take a look at Giants' postseason outlook
The 2022 NFL Playoffs are officially set.
The Giants will travel to Minnesota on Super Wild Card Weekend for a rematch against the Vikings in the opening round of the postseason on Sunday at 4:30 pm EST.
"Next team on the list," coach Brian Daboll said about a second game against the Vikings in less than a month. "When you get to this time of year, you don't really focus on brackets. You knew going into the game yesterday it could be one of two teams. Both teams (they could have played, including the San Francisco 49ers) are very good with very good records. One we have played and are familiar with. Much like I said earlier, kind of the Washington three-week kind of deal there where we played Washington then another team then Washington again. But it's a great environment up there. Really good team, good coaching staff, competitive, won a lot of football games. So, we've got a lot of work to do."
With all of the first-round matchups locked in, many media outlets across the NFL landscape took a look at the playoff picture. Here is what some experts are saying about the Giants heading into the postseason.
"This is a scrappy bunch. The Giants jumped out to a 7-2 record to start the season, then went a month without a win before finding a way to earn a couple more victories to cement their hold on the No. 6 seed. They've been exactly the same team throughout all that. The Giants have been one of the best groups in the league in avoiding turnovers, and their defense is opportunistic enough to keep them in games. This is the most blue-collar bunch in the playoffs, by far. They also embrace that, which is part of their charm." -- Jeffri Chadiha
"Quarterback Daniel Jones has played well down the stretch. His 77.8 QBR in Weeks 15-17 (vs. Washington, Minnesota, Indianapolis) was second best in the NFL during that span and helped the Giants clinch their first playoff berth since 2016. The Giants are also getting healthier defensively with Adoree' Jackson (knee), their top cornerback, and safety Xavier McKinney (hand) returning." -- Jordan Raanan
"I trust Coach of the Year candidate Brian Daboll to maximize New York's talent and make necessary adjustments in the postseason. Remember too, the Giants took the Vikings to the brink on Christmas Eve before losing on a 61-yard field goal...
New York doesn't emanate a classic "scary wild-card team" aura. They're very well-rounded. Each unit can pick up others when they're having an off day. They want to play arduous knock-down-drag-out football and keep it close. And they're very successful in doing that. The Giants played in 13 one-score games in the regular season. More than the Vikings! They went 8-4-1 in those contests, and that's counting a valiant effort by backups in Week 18 on the road in Philadelphia.
In that loss to the Vikings a few weeks ago, the Giants had the same amount of first downs as Minnesota (23), Daniel Jones threw for more yards than Kirk Cousins with a better yards-per-attempt average, Barkley outgained Dalvin Cook on the ground, and the Giants outgained the Vikings as a team...
The Giants have the roster makeup, head coach, and regression to the mean on their side to spring an upset in the first round of the playoffs and land back in Philadelphia in the second round of the playoffs." -- Chris Trapasso
"Among the 14 teams in the postseason this year, there probably isn't a bigger surprise than the New York Giants. Not many expected the Giants to vie for a playoff spot at all in Brian Daboll's first season as the team's head coach. No one expected that heading into the Week 18 finale against the Eagles, the Giants would already have a wild-card spot sewn up.
There have been a number of reasons for New York's surprising success, whether it's the running of Saquon Barkley or the play of Leonard Williams and Julian Love on defense. But the biggest catalyst for New York's playoff run is the play of quarterback Daniel Jones, who has had by far the best season of his career on the final year of his rookie deal." -- Bleacher Report NFL Staff
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