Giants have opportunity to feast on second half schedule

The New York Giants are 3-6 as they enter their bye week and many have written them off again.

Those who are doing that may be jumping off the bandwagon too early according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, who believes the Giants’ playoff hopes are far from dead.

Here’s the main reason to hope: Even if the Giants return from the bye week with a loss to the Buccaneers to fall to 3-7, only two of the final seven opponents (Cowboys, Chargers) have winning records. The combined winning percentage for those seven opponents (Eagles twice) is .400.

What’s more? The Giants have a winning formula now that the defense is meeting high expectations after a disappointing start. In all nine wins of the Judge-Jason Garrett-Patrick Graham era, the Giants have allowed 21 or fewer points. Seven times that point total is 16-21.

Good points all around. The Giants’ defense has been playing lights out the past three weeks, allowing a league-low 13 points per game and have only allowed opponents to score touchdowns in the red zone on 23 percent of their trips, also a league-low over that span.

The defense has come around, now the offense must follow. But that can only happen if Jason Garrett takes off the training wheels and the Giants get some production out of their marquee stars such as Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and Sterling Shepard.

Barkley, Golladay and Shepard may all be back in the lineup next Monday night in Tampa, which would be a huge boost. Add them to the group of Kadarius Today, Devontae Booker, Evan Engram, Darius Slayton and Rudolph and you have the makings of a very powerful offense.

21 points per game could be all the Giants need to go 6-2 in the second half, which would put them at 9-8 on the year and in the post season conversation.