Death, taxes, and meaningless culture wins at the end of the season that sabotage the New York Giants’ draft position.
In the span of just two weeks, Big Blue went from owning the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NFL Draft to dropping outside of the top five after two straight victories — the final coming on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium with a 34-17 result over the Dallas Cowboys.
With a Week 17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Giants have won consecutive games for the first time since the 2023 season.
“I’m just really proud of the players and the coaches for hanging tough, putting in the work every single day, every single week. They never waivered,” interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “The results weren’t there, but the process was right… It’s really cool, and I’m really proud of them.
“This season wasn’t what we all wanted, but they finished it the right way.”
General manager Joe Schoen’s ineffective roster ends the season with a 4-13 record, just one win better than last season’s 3-14 train wreck, which was the worst in the franchise’s 101-year history. Yet Schoen remains at the helm of the organization, whether that involves making the first-round pick in April or leading the search for the franchise’s next head coach after parting ways with Brian Daboll following a Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Kafka likely won’t be elevated to the full-time role for 2026, as he finished his seven-game stint with a 2-5 record.
“I’m not thinking about [my future] right now,” Kafka said. “I’m just thinking about this great win that we had with the players and the coaches.”
His final win did not feature much resistance from the Cowboys, who pulled the majority of their starters at halftime with the Giants holding a 16-10 lead.
Trailing by one late in the second quarter, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s circus backhanded flip to tight end Daniel Bellinger while under pressure resulted in a 29-yard touchdown with six seconds to go, putting them ahead for good.
Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. rushed for 103 yards on 18 carries to lead a Giants ground game that went for 160 yards. He was the Giants’ first singular 100-yard rusher in a game since he did so in Week 10 last season, ending a 23-game drought. Tracy also posted 56 yards with a receiving touchdown, which came on a 13-yard connection with Dart in their opening possession of the third quarter.
Dart completed 22 of 32 pass attempts for 231 yards and those two scores while adding an additional 32 on the ground in the final game of a rookie season in which he cemented himself as the Giants’ franchise quarterback of the future.
Ben Sauls, the Giants’ fourth different kicker of the season, converted four field goals, and veteran linebacker Bobby Okerek intercepted Dallas’ backup quarterback Joe Milton to set up Devin Singletary’s six-yard touchdown with 5:47 left in the game.
