It’s all come crashing down for the Giants.
In what seems like an instant, the Giants season has become a catastrophe. After being annihilated 45-17 by the Green Bay Packers last Sunday, one week after arguably the most disturbing loss in the franchise’s history, a crushing 38-31 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles after leading 31-10 in the fourth quarter, the Giants’ future has devolved into utter uncertainty.
“We’re disappointed. I think the players are very disappointed and unsure of how this came about, as many of us are,” said Tom Coughlin during a conference call on Monday.
There is only one remaining playoff spot in the NFC. Both the Packers and the Giants are 9-6. But the Packers are in control. The Giants’ only path into the post-season is a victory over the Redskins in Washington this Sunday and a Packers loss against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay. Both games are scheduled to kickoff at 4:15 P.M.
The outcomes will have a profound effect on the careers of many of the Giants players and coaches, most notably head coach Coughlin. It isn’t solely his fault that the team has experienced another late season free fall. There is enough accountability to spread around.
Yet, as the man whose responsibility it is to get his team to peak in late December, to avoid, in the context of football, cataclysmic events like what took place against the Eagles two weekends ago, most fingers will point towards him.
There are outcries from some of the passionate Giants fan base to replace the 64-year- old Coughlin, the oldest head coach in the NFL. He is also one of the best based on his track record. However, the Giants’ propensity for sliding in the closing months of too many campaigns under his watch could be Coughlin’s undoing
Since November 14, when the Dallas Cowboys thumped them 33-20, the Giants are 3-4. Juxtapose those numbers and they would have locked up a playoff invitation. One more win out of those seven games and it is an entirely different season for the Giants right now.
Stuck in Appleton, Wisconsin, due to inclement weather long after being rocked by the Packers, the Giants were left to ponder what could have been and what will be. The irony was inescapable. Like their travel plans, their future, especially Coughlin’s, is in a holding pattern.