John Harbaugh doesn’t need much time to put the Giants in a place they haven’t been in years.
Four games into his tenure, New York can grab sole possession of the NFC East - a position the franchise has not truly owned in almost six years. That alone tells you how unusual this opportunity is. The Giants have spent too long chasing the division instead of setting the pace, and now a manageable stretch could finally change that.
The path is there. Arizona is next, and the Eagles are staring at a tricky matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. If those results break the right way, Harbaugh and the Giants could take a real step toward something the organization has been waiting on for a long time.
The last time the Giants sat alone atop the NFC East was November 29, 2020. That day, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17 on the road to move to 4-7, and for a few hours they were in first place on a technicality because Washington did not play until the afternoon window.
Wayne Gallman handled the offense with 94 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Xavier McKinney, now with the Green Bay Packers, was still a rookie.
Even New York’s better moments since then came with company. In 2022, the Giants were 7-2, but the Eagles were already 8-1.
Dallas sat close behind at 6-3, and Washington was not far off at 5-5. The division has not offered the Giants much room to breathe.
This year has at least given them a chance. With Jaxson Dart starting for less than five quarters, the Giants are already 2-1, which makes the opening stretch look even more promising. The Cardinals are a softer matchup, and Philadelphia is dealing with enough issues to keep the door cracked open.
The biggest concern for the Eagles right now is DeVonta Smith. He missed the first two Week 4 practices with a hamstring injury, and his workload was already being managed before Philadelphia’s Monday Night Football loss to the Chicago Bears. With a shorter turnaround ahead, ESPN’s Tim McManus reported that "the expectation is he won't be able to go,".
If Smith is out or limited, the Eagles enter the Rams game with real problems. Their running game has not been as sharp as usual, and the defense has had issues in the secondary. That gives the Rams, who are trying to rebound from an ugly primetime loss, a chance to pile on.
There is still plenty of season left, but the Giants finally have a real opening. Harbaugh has given them a shot to climb into first, and maybe even to reset the standard in the NFC East.
In Other News...
Odell Beckham Jr. Just Reopened An Ugly Giants Decision
Odell Beckham Jr.s brief return to the Giants has already become another awkward chapter in a relationship that once defined the franchises offense. After limited playing time and just one target in three games, New York moved on after Week 3, a decision that coach John Harbaugh framed as a matter of fit and timing, saying Beckham did not match what the team had planned.
Beckham made it clear on social media that the mid-season exit stung, especially after what was supposed to be a meaningful homecoming. For the Giants, the episode only adds more weight to a move that was supposed to help in the short term but instead reopened one of the more uncomfortable conversations around how this reunion was handled. [Read more 🡒]
Giants May Have Found An Unexpected Answer In A Chaotic Win
The Giants 36-24 win over the Cardinals in Week 4 was the kind of game that revealed as much about the roster as the score did. New York had already been forced to absorb the season-ending loss of pass rusher Brian Burns and the release of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., yet it still steadied itself after falling behind early and found a way to take control.
One of the biggest reasons was rookie linebacker Arvell Reese, who made multiple defensive plays and looked like he belonged in the middle of the chaos. For a team dealing with injuries and turnover, those kinds of contributions matter, and they helped push the Giants to 3-1 while also hinting that they may have stumbled onto an unexpected answer on defense. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Defense Faces A Rookie Test That Could Expose A Problem
The Giants are about to get a close look at the kind of rookie who can make a defense feel older than it is. After using the No. 5 pick on edge rusher Arvell Reese, New York now turns its attention to Arizona and the Cardinals No. 3 selection, Jeremiyah Love, a back who has already shown he can matter as both a runner and a receiver.
For a Giants defense dealing with injuries, the matchup comes at a tricky time. New York has done a decent job keeping opponents under control on the ground overall, but recent games have shown a weakness in the way yards are being given up, and Loves versatility creates the sort of test that can expose it if the front seven is a step slow. [Read more 🡒]