Let’s start — one day after a rare, successful afternoon for the Giants, who won their first game in more than a month and earned some of the first drips of optimism of the season — with one of the lowest points in franchise history.
Think back two seasons, when Joe Judge’s fate hung in the air as Jake Fromm plunged his body forward.
The 2021-22 Giants, already eliminated from the playoff race, were playing out the string and just trying to survive the last week of a miserable season in front of a nearly nonexistent crowd at MetLife Stadium. Daniel Jones was missing his sixth straight game due to a neck injury. Fromm was getting a start because Mike Glennon already had lost the backup gig.
In the second quarter of a game the Giants trailed by three, they essentially chose to avoid a possibly humiliating turnover and instead accept outright humiliation. Pinned back inside their 5-yard line, Fromm ran a pair of quarterback sneaks as a means to clear a bit of space for the punt team, a full-on surrender by the offense and the offensive minds.
The eventual 22-7 loss to Washington was merely a formality because the manner of the loss mattered a lot more than the final score. Shortly thereafter, Judge was fired.
A season can turn sideways when a team is forced to play a quarterback who does not belong (Fromm) or no longer belongs (Glennon) on the field. There is little more debilitating than abysmal quarterback play, which ruins locker rooms, turns receivers and defenses against QBs and fills home stadiums with jeers.
Poor backup right tackles might be exploited over time, but they generally can be hidden. Poor backup quarterbacks can ruin seasons (ask the 2021 Giants) and get coaches fired (ask Judge).
Which brings us to the 2023 Giants, the coach who succeeded Judge and the backup quarterback who succeeded Glennon. There are not many calling for Brian Daboll’s firing because the Giants — while not quite on the right track — have not quite gone off the rails. Tyrod Taylor is a professional, competent quarterback.
“Tyrod had a good game. Played well. Took care of the ball,” Daboll said after the Giants’ 14-7 win over Washington, in which Taylor threw for both touchdowns. “Made good decisions. Threw the ball where it was supposed to be thrown.”
Taylor won’t lead the Giants to the Super Bowl, but he can take over for Jones (out due to a neck injury again) and play well enough to move the offense. He didn’t turn the ball over during an 18-for-29 performance in which he threw for 279 yards, ran for another 25, orchestrated a pair of first-half touchdown drives and was maybe the least sloppy performer in a sloppy game.
Sterling Shepard muffed a punt. Kayvon Thibodeaux dropped the easiest interception of his life, which seemed certain to become a pick-six. Saquon Barkley, who never fumbles, had the ball ripped out with the Giants in the red zone halfway through the fourth quarter to give the Commanders hope.
This Giants win did not look like the beginning of a season-turning run, but it allowed some smiles, a pipe dream and perhaps a bit better job security for people such as Daboll. These are games that cannot be won with a backup quarterback who is around to to be developed for future seasons or merely to fill a roster spot.
It’s not just the Giants who have learned this lesson. Look around the NFL landscape: The Colts lost Anthony Richardson for the season, but are still afloat because Gardner Minshew, while probably not good enough to be an every-week starter, is serviceable enough to relieve, even if his four turnovers hurt in a 39-38 loss to the Browns on Sunday. (The score would have been a lot more lopsided if the Browns had a backup like Taylor — backup PJ Walker has not been impressive.)
And look at the most embarrassing team this week: The Raiders are carrying this year’s version of Glennon in 38-year-old Brian Hoyer, who brings experience to the table but not much else. Hoyer (17-for-32 for 129 yards) gave the Raiders no chance in an embarrassing 30-12 loss to … Tyson Bagent’s Bears. Bagent stepped in for the injured Justin Fields in his first career start and looked far sharper than Hoyer did. Can the Bears continue relying on the 23-year-old for quality play? Probably not.
Until Jones returns, can the Giants continue relying on Taylor to provide passable quarterback play and keep them in games in which their defense and offensive line doesn’t let them down? Yes. And with a base level of reliability comes at least some semblance of promise. The Giants’ season has sloped downward, but it has not spiraled.
Not many cared when Taylor signed his two-year, $12 million deal before the 2022 season, but the Giants quietly bought a degree of respectability that few teams have. Their ceiling is low, but their floor has been raised.
Today’s back page
All eyes on Max
The Mets’ trade deadline will largely decide the American League Championship Series.
Max Scherzer will get the ball for Game 7 on Monday night as the Rangers and Astros face off once more in what has become a fascinating championship series.
The deciding game will be in Houston, which somehow might be an advantage for the Rangers: Every game in the series has been won by the road team.
The Rangers took Game 6 going away, 9-2, behind Nathan Eovaldi’s brilliance, three hits (including a homer) from Mitch Garver and a grand slam from Adolis Garcia. Because Eovaldi lasted 6 ⅓ innings and Texas pulled away late, only Josh Sborz, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Heaney were needed out of the bullpen, which means plenty of arms will be in play behind Scherzer.
What does the postseason legend have left? Pitching for the first time in about five weeks, Scherzer came back from a shoulder injury and was knocked around in Wednesday’s Game 3, letting up five runs in four innings.
Mets fans have poor memories of Playoff Scherzer, who let down Queens in the wild-card series last year. This year was filled with starts and stops until the trade deadline marked a final stop. Scherzer was shipped to the Rangers as the Mets held a fire sale that also included Justin Verlander, who has pitched this series in an Astros victory and an Astros defeat.
Scherzer is likely to be opposed by Cristian Javier, who allowed two runs in 5 ⅔ innings in Game 3 to beat Scherzer.
Rangers fans will not bemoan the loss of Luisangel Acuña if Scherzer pitches like Mad Max one more time.
Knicks need to decide Quickley
Immanuel Quickley reposted a message Sunday on Instagram that read, “Mannnn [I don’t know] I just feel like God about to do his BIG ONE FOR ME.”
Was he publicly wishing the Knicks will extend a big contract his way?
The Knicks and their fourth-year guard will have until late Monday afternoon to reach an extension, or else Quickley would become a restricted free agent next summer.
Leon Rose’s group does not want to lose Quickley, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year runner-up and an excellent defensive option behind Jalen Brunson.
But do they believe Quickley should be paid like Brunson, who signed a four-year, $104 million pact that instantly became a bargain?
The Knicks surely hope they can come to an eight-figure agreement with Quickley, who would start on plenty of teams and might fetch a larger deal elsewhere if the Knicks allow him to hit restricted free agency.
On the eve of the 2023-24 NBA season, the Knicks face a major question about the 2024-25 season.
What we’re reading
🏈 Bill Belichick won his 300th career game as the Patriots stunned the Bills, and he was in a terrific mood afterward. Just kidding. He said: “It’s great.”
🏒 Braden Schneider hasn’t had the smoothest go during the Rangers’ 3-2 start, and he knows it.
🏀 Good for Harry Giles, who made the Nets roster after going through injury hell.
⚽ Gotham FC won the franchise’s first playoff game, advancing to the NWSL semis in two weeks against Portland.
⚽ The Red Bulls dramatically secured a 14th consecutive MLS playoff berth, extending the longest active streak in major North American pro leagues.
🏈 Lincoln Riley is letting Caleb Williams down at USC, writes The Post’s Zach Braziller.
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