Before the 2017 Regular Season Kickoff: The New York Giants were coming off a season where they won 11 games, ended a 4 year playoff drought and swept the NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys. The Giants also returned 10 out of 11 of their starters from their #2 ranked scoring defense in the NFL. General Manager Jerry Reese also added 6 time pro bowl Wide Receiver Brandon and first round rookie tight end Evan Engram to help Odell Beckham JR and Eli Manning improve that 26th ranked scoring offense. Expectations were high for the Big Blue fan base and a 3rd championship ring for Eli Manning seemed like an attainable goal.
Week 5 vs Chargers: The Los Angeles Chargers and Giants were both disappointing and winless at 0 – 4 coming into this game but New York was favored at home in MetLife stadium. In the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Giants were trailing 16 – 17 then Odell Beckham JR showed why he’s a superstar. Beckham JR lost pro bowl cornerback Casey Heyward with a slant and go route and caught a 48 yard touchdown to put New York up 22 – 17.
The turning point of the game and the Giant’s season came with 4 minutes left to play as New York was holding on to a 22 – 20 lead. Beckham JR tried to catch a high pass from Eli Manning but was hit by Casey Heyward, fell down awkwardly and fractured his ankle. Devastation filled MetLife stadium as he was carted off the field as that was his final play of the season. To make matters worse, newly signed WR Brandon Marshall injured his ankle earlier in the game and was also out for the season. 
On the play after Beckham JR got injured, Eli Manning lost a fumble after being strip sacked by linebacker Melvin Ingram. That turnover led to a 10 yard touchdown reception by Charger’s running back Melvin Gordon to give Los Angeles a 27 – 22 lead with 3 minutes left in the game. With 49 seconds left, the Giants faced a 4th and 10 from the 48 yard line. Eli Manning dropped back and threw a game ending interception to Giants safety Tre Boston to keep the Giants winless.
Week 10 vs 49ers: Before this game, it was clear the Giants were the most disappointing squad in the NFL with a 1 – 8 record. The Big Blue fan base just wanted the G-Men to tank at this point for high profile QB draft prospects Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen to replace the aging Eli Manning. However, New York was favorites in San Francisco mainly due to the fact that the 49ers were winless at 0 – 9 and they were starting 3rd round rookie QB C.J Beathard. But the Vegas odds makers did not know how far the Giants had fallen off the rails.
The Giants carried a 6 – 3 lead in the 2nd quarter and they had possession close to the red-zone at the 22 yard line. This New York drive would come up empty as Eli Manning lost a fumble after being strip sacked by defensive end Ronald Blair. That giveaway led to an 83 yard home run touchdown catch by 49er’s wide receiver Marquise Goodwin as he burned 2016 pro bowl cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
San Francisco had a 17 – 13 lead in the beginning of the 4th quarter then 49er QB C.J Beathard easily ran in for a 12 yard bootleg touchdown. Later, 49er’s undrafted rookie running back Matt Breida ran straight through the middle of that lackluster Giant defense for a 33 yard touchdown to put San Francisco up 31 – 13. That G-Men defense allowed the hapless 49ers to have a 66% 3rd down conversion rate, gave up 474 total yards and made a huge contribution to the 49er’s 1st win of the season.
Week 13 – Eli Benched, Coach McAdoo & General Manager Jerry Reese Fired: Before a week 13 match up versus the Raiders in Oakland, Coach Bob McAdoo decided to bench Eli Manning for veteran QB Geno Smith instead of 3rd round rookie QB David Webb. Benching one veteran QB for another makes no sense when your team has no shot at the playoffs and you have a rookie QB who needs to gain some valuable experience under center. Geno Smith and the Giants went ahead and lost that game in the Black Hole and that’s also where Bob McAdoo and Jerry Reese lost their jobs. Eli got his starting position back but the Giants lost 3 out of their last 4 games to end a disastrous season.
Where do they go from here? The Giants finished the season with a 3 – 13 record which is their most games lost in a season since entering the NFL in 1925! The most shocking part of their baffling season was the major decline of their defense that fell from the #2 scoring defense all the way down to #28. Injuries did not play a significant role in the huge drop off as most of their core defenders played throughout the beginning and middle of the season.
The culprit is the inexplicable off the field drama that dismantled a once formidable defense. Cornerback Rogers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins were suspended by Bob McAdoo for disrespecting him. Towards the end of the season, cornerback Eli Apple was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and his pro bowl safety teammate Landon Collins publically called Apple out as ‘a cancer’. McAdoo’s players obviously tuned him out at some point during their soul crutching 0 – 5 start.
Now it’s up to a new general manager and coach to get the Giants back to their 2016 form. President John Mara hired former Giant’s pro personnel director and former GM of the 2015 NFC Champion Carolina Panthers, Dave Gettleman to be the general manager. Gettleman then hired Viking’s offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Those guys have a tall task ahead of them to build some camaraderie amongst their players, end the off field commotion and focus on redeeming themselves in 2018. With the #2 pick in the draft, the Giants are likely to select USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA’s Josh Rosen as an understudy of the experienced Eli Manning.