Do the New York Giants actually have a chance to win the NFC East?
The 2026 NFL campaign opened beautifully for the New York Giants. They defeated the Dallas Cowboys in one of their most impressive wins in years, and Jaxson Dart looked tremendous in the process.
One week later, Dart was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Then, this past Sunday, Brian Burns tore his ACL.
The Giants basically lost two of their most important players in one fell swoop, which appeared to put their playoff hopes — which were already relatively slim to begin with — on ice. Even after a 2-1 start.
But is it possible New York could still find a way to make the postseason in spite of all of the early adversity it has faced?
The Giants have an incredibly easy schedule the next several weeks. They will host the Arizona Cardinals this weekend, and then they will head on the road to battle the Washington Commanders, potentially sans Jayden Daniels. After that, New York will return home to face the New Orleans Saints.
Heck, the Giants also have a road date with the winless Houston Texans on Oct. 25 before the bye, but you kind of get the feeling the Texans are better than their record indicates.
The point is that New York could end up at 5-1 or 4-2 before heading to Houston ... and have you seen the rest of the NFC East?
The Philadelphia Eagles are generally viewed as the best team in the division, but they were just absolutely smacked by a Chicago Bears squad that didn't have Caleb Williams. The Cowboys have many of the same problems they had last year. The Commanders did just beat the Seattle Seahawks, but I'm not sure anyone takes them seriously.
Of course, there are many reasons to doubt the Giants. Jameis Winston is currently under center, and while New York did just acquire J.J. McCarthy, there is a reason why the Minnesota Vikings were so quick to dump him for a Day 3 pick.
The defense has actually not looked great as a whole, the Giants' 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 3 notwithstanding. The pass rush has been surprisingly dormant, and with Burns now sidelined, that becomes even more difficult.
It's also worth noting that New York's schedule becomes considerably more challenging during the second half, with games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions on the slate.
But the rest of the division has some tough matchups to tackle, as well, so the Giants won't be alone in that regard.
Do I think New York will win the NFC East? No. If Dart and Burns didn't get injured, I would be far more bullish based on how the other three teams have looked, but I'm not sure if Big Blue can overcome losing its quarterback as well as its best defensive player.
That being said, the Giants cannot be entirely written off thanks to what seems to be a rather inept division overall.
