New York Giants Week 17 Storylines
“Win and enter”.
Despite the New York Giants’ refusal to publicly acknowledge those three simple words, their Week 17 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts comes down to securing a win if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 .
So why aren’t the players and coach Brian Daboll willing to talk about it? Head coach Brian Daboll explained why.
“I think we just try to control our luck every week by trying to win a game,” he said. “The goal is always to try to go 1-0, and that will be no different this week.”
In other words, Daboll doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse by talking about something that won’t happen if the Giants don’t take care of business against the Colts. And that’s why this team’s focus is on cleaning up the slack from last week’s loss to the Vikings instead of making plans for the postseason.
Here are some more stories in store for the new week.
Injury update
As of Monday, Daboll was unsure if outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (ankle), cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (knee) and safety Xavier McKinney (hand) would be able to practice this week.
Ojulari, who had his ankle wrapped in last week’s game, told reporters he would be fine, but it is rare for a player to accurately assess his injuries. With the Giants finally finding a pass rush with Ojular in the lineup, his absence would certainly be felt.
Jackson’s return would be a huge boost to the defensive secondary. Even if he plays a handful of snaps if the Giants make the postseason, what better way to get Jackson up after a few weeks of inactivity? Give him a handful of snaps in these final two games of the regular season so that if the playoffs are in this team’s future, he’ll be ready for a fuller workload.
McKinney is in the same boat as Jackson, but his status seems less certain. If his arm was stable enough to endure the rigors of a game, he probably would have been fitted with a club by now and would have opened his 21-day window.
That hasn’t been the case, leading one to wonder if he’s lost some versatility or if he’s just not healing fast enough to the point where he can function.
The Viking Effect
Throughout the season, win or lose, Daboll has encouraged his players to get past the last game and focus on the next one. But it’s certainly fair to wonder how much confidence the team may have taken in going toe-to-toe with the Vikings, the current no. Two-seeded team in the playoffs last week. We all saw how the 2007 Giants team gained confidence despite losing to the undefeated Patriots in a meaningless regular season finale, so the idea isn’t that crazy, right?
Daboll disagreed.
“I don’t think you’re ever happy or satisfied after a loss in any shape or form,” he said. “But you have to go back, review it, correct the things you need to correct and prepare for next week.”
While the Colts aren’t what the Vikings have shown themselves to be, we still think there’s something to be said for learning how to win and learning how to handle adversity. The fact that the Giants lost the game against the Vikings on a field goal is about as bad a situation as it gets – a real gut punch. And how the Giants respond this week will mean a lot.
