While there’s no doubt that veteran quarterback Eli Manning is getting long in the tooth and approaching retirement at some point in the near future, the New York Giants are hitching their saddle to the two-time Super Bowl-winning signal-caller for at least one more season as they get set for the upcoming 2019 NFL regular season.
While the G-Men are hoping that polarizing first round draft pick Daniel Jones can live up to his draft stature and seamlessly replace their future Hall of Fame icon at some point, New York is tying its 2019 success to the almost universally beloved Manning for the 16th consecutive season.
Whether Manning leads the Giants to their first winning record since they went 11-5 in 2016 or whether New York flounders in Year 2 of the Pat Shurmur era remains to be seen, but right now, there are definitely a bunch of things you need to know about the NFC East playoff hopefuls before they take to the gridiron for the quickly approaching 2019 NFL regular season. let’s find out everything you need to know about the Giants right now.
New York Giants 2019 NFL Season Betting Guide
Betting Statistics
- ATS: 5-11 (W-L) / 8-7-1 (ATS) / 1-6-1 (Home) / 7-1-0 (Away) / 5-0-0 (Grass) / 3-7-1 (Turf)
- O/U: 9-7-0 (W-L) / 4-4-0 (Home) / 5-3-0 (Away) / 3-2-0 (Grass) / 6-5-0 (Turf) / 48.8 (Total)
The Giants might have gone an uninspiring 5-11 in 2018, but at least they covered the chalk decently by going 8-7-1 ATS and a stunning 7-1 ATS in their eight road games last season. New York played over the O/U total nine times, including five times on the road.
Offense
- Total Yards: 356.1 / Rank 17
- Passing Yards: 252.9 / Rank 11
- Rushing Yards: 103.1 /Rank 24
- Points Scored: 23.1 / Rank 16
- Field Goal %: 97 / Rank 2
The Giants finished the 2018 regular season ranked a modest 17th overall, a respectable 11th in passing and decent 16th in scoring (23.1 ppg). Despite the fact that rookie running back Saquon Barkley had a debut season for the ages in which he topped the 2,000 combined yard mark, the Giants were completely reliant on Barkley carrying the ball which is why they finished an uninspiring 24th in rushing.
To address their needs on the offensive side of the ball, the Giants signed veteran wide receiver Golden Tate to replace Odell Beckham Jr. while selecting Duke quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the draft, although many expected that pick to be Ohio State signal-caller Dwayne Haskins. Outside of those two additions and re-signing some of their own players, like fullback Eli Penny and wide receiver Russell Shepard, the Giants didn’t do much on the offensive side of the ball in the offseason.
Defense
- Total Yards: 371.4 / Rank 24
- Passing Yards: 252.8 / Rank 23
- Rushing Yards: 118.6 /Rank 20
- Points Allowed: 25.8 / Rank 23
- Field Goal %: 88.6 / Rank 22
Defensively, the G-Men were mostly a mess in finishing 24th overall, 23rd against the pass, 20th against the run and 23rd in points allowed (25.8 ppg). To address their multitude of needs on the defensive side of the ball, the Giants signed veteran safety Antoine Bethea and linebacker Markus Golden in free agency while nabbing former Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with the 17th overall pick and Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker with the 30th overall pick in the first round. New York also selected Old Dominion defensive end Oshane Ximines in the third round and Notre Dame cornerback Julian Love in the fourth round.
Team Leaders
- Touchdowns: Saquon Barkley (15)
- Rushing: Saquon Barkley (1307)
- Passing: Eli Manning (4299)
- Receiving: Odell Beckham Jr. (1052)
- Sacks: Olivier Vernon (7.0)
- Interceptions: Alec Ogletree (5)
Last season, the Giants found of they indeed did have the franchise superstar they were hoping for when they drafted now, star running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. The former Penn State product scored a team-high 15 touchdowns while rushing for 1,307 yards and adding a stunning 91 catches for 721 yards.
Eli Manning topped the 4,000-yard passing mark for the fourth time in the last five years while Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. led the team in receiving yards. Veteran defensive end Olivier Vernon led the team in sacks while linebacker Alec Ogletree led the team with a career-high five interceptions.
Outlook
New York made a huge trade by sending gifted, but polarizing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive end Olivier Vernon to Cleveland in exchange for safety Jabrill Peppers, guard Kevin Zeitler a 2019 first found pick (No. 17) and third-round pick (No. 95) in next year’s NFL Draft as well.
In addition to their six difficult NFC East division matchups against Philly, Dallas and Washington, the Giants also have tough non-division matchups against Minnesota, at New England, at Chicago and against Green Bay. Still, I think it’s quite possible that New York could reach .500 for the season seeing as how they have what looks like a bunch of winnable contests against rebuilding teams like Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Detroit and the New York Jets. Don’t be surprised if the G-Men win eight…I won’t be.
