Giants fans may pinch themselves after hearing what NFL analyst has to say image
Let the John Harbaugh era of the New York Giants begin. It all starts now. The Giants play their first game of the NFL's regular season on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Talk about a big first game. These two teams are obviously rivals, and to see Harbaugh have his first run with this team against Dallas is really thrilling. It's in the primetime, too, so America will be watching.
It usually takes a while for a new coach to get his team to where he wants it to be, but that may not be the case with Harbaugh. He may actually see huge results in just one season, one NFL analyst believes.
John Harbaugh could lead the Giants to the playoffs in his first season
Bill Barnwell of ESPN has unleashed his predictions for the 2026 NFL playoff field, as well as what teams have the best chance to go all the way. In the feature, published Wednesday, he says he believes the Giants will go to the playoffs. Last season, they were 4-13, so that's a great projection. He believes they'll make the NFC wild-card round.
In the piece, he says, "Acknowledging that history tells us three teams from this bucket at the bottom of the 2025 standings will make it to the playoffs in 2026, the Giants look a lot like the Bears and Jaguars did a year ago -- better than they seemed the year before and in position to make a leap."
He adds that while he doesn't see them going as high as the Bears did in their earlier seasons with Ben Johnson, and he doesn't think they'll win the division, "I do think they're capable of being the league's most surprising wild-card team." That's not a bad take at all. It's safe to say most Giants fans would be thrilled to see the team back in the playoffs in any capacity.
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