John Harbaugh’s first year running the Giants has already been a grind, but the numbers around his bye-week record give New York reason to feel good about what comes next.
The Giants have had to absorb major losses early. Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury not even two games into Harbaugh’s tenure, and Brian Burns followed a week later with a torn ACL. Even so, New York has stayed on top of the NFC East at 4-2-1 after its thrilling overtime win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Now the Giants get a chance to reset, and Harbaugh’s track record says that can be a real advantage. During his 18 seasons as the Baltimore Ravens head coach, he posted only three losing seasons, including two 8-9 finishes.
His work coming out of the bye is even more striking: Harbaugh is 15-3 after the bye week, the best winning percentage in NFL history among head coaches with at least 10 games. He has not lost a game after the bye since the 2020 season, and before that, his previous post-bye loss came all the way back in 2015.
The timing of New York’s break looks especially favorable. After the bye, the Giants head to Philadelphia to face an Eagles team that has dropped five straight, is dealing with a pile of injuries, lost quarterback Jalen Hurts for the season and has fielded a defense that has been one of the worst in the league during that five-game slide.
There’s also a longer road block the Giants can finally try to break. They have not won at Lincoln Financial Field since the 2013 season.
The bye should also help on another front, with some of New York’s key players dealing with minor injuries. And through all the attrition, Harbaugh has still kept the group together, with the Giants continuing to believe in one another as they carry a division lead into the second half of the season.
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One name that keeps coming up is Tony Pollard, whose profile makes him an interesting alternative if New York decides Jonathan Taylor is too steep a target. Pollard has a track record of production, and his contract situation could make him more attainable than a true premium rental, though any deal would still depend on what kind of return the Giants are willing to send and how Tennessee views its own roster balance going forward. [Read more 🡒]