Why Late-Season NFL Wins Feel Like Losses, Leaving Fans Feeling Deflated

The New York Giants won their first and final home game of the season on Sunday, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 at MetLife Stadium. Normally, it would be a cause for celebration. Only it felt more like a punch to the gut for fans hoping to salvage a top draft pick out of this dreadful season.The same can be said for supporters of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders, two teams that claimed wins only to drop in the draft order. With the final weekend of the NFL regular season approaching, this is the time of year when winning can mean losing.“Why the hell would you win a game when you have tanked the entire season,” @GYNBLogs0718 tweeted. “This is just stupidity.”@Andrew23906169 tweeted, “It’s like they just traded a 1st and 3rd Rd pick for winning this meaningless game. So stupid.”The Giants, now 3-13, were projected to have the first overall pick in the NFL Draft before they defeated the Colts, who entered the game with playoff aspirations. The New England Patriots had the No. 2 selection. The Jaguars were third before they defeated the Tennessee Titans, 20-13, and the Raiders were sixth before beating the New Orleans Saints, 25-10.The upset win over the Colts means the Giants dropped to fourth. That severely hurts their chances of landing one of the top two quarterback prospects: Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami.The Patriots don’t need a quarterback after drafting Drake Maye this past April. Instead, they could select Mr. Sanders’ Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, the two-way Heisman trophy winner.The Tennessee Titans (3-13) own the No. 2 pick heading into their season finale against the Houston Texans. The Cleveland Browns (3-13) are No. 3 entering the final week of the regular season. The Raiders, seemingly headed for a top-three choice two weeks ago, have now won two straight games, falling to the No. 8 pick.The Giants desperately need a quarterback after releasing Daniel Jones late in the season with no heir apparent. That problem would have been solved by claiming one of the top three picks. Instead, they close out the season on Sunday against the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles, then must figure out what to do at quarterback. They can hit the free agent market, hope Mr. Sanders or Mr. Ward falls to them at No. 4, or make a trade to move up in the draft which every other team that needs a quarterback will be trying to do.For now, Giants coach Brian Daboll is focused on beating the Eagles at Philadelphia where a win would drop them even lower in the draft. “We’re doing everything we can to compete at the highest level we can compete,” he told reporters on Monday. “We put a lot of work into this. I was happy for the players. These guys come in every day and put a lot into this and give everything they have each week.”Interestingly, the Giants finish the season playing against the running back they elected not to re-sign during the offseason, Saquon Barkley. Mr. Barkley signed with the Eagles and is enjoying would could be a record-breaking season. With 2,005 rushing yards, he needs 101 to pass Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105.Mr. Barkley led the Eagles to a 28-3 victory when he ran for 176 yards and one touchdown in his first meeting against his old team on October 20, but could see limited if any action on Sunday. Philadelphia (13-3) is locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and has nothing to gain by beating the Giants.Mr. Barkley has said he would “love” to play in the game, but added, “At the end of the day, we’ve got bigger things that we’re focusing on.”Should the Eagles rest all their starters, it would enhance the Giants’ chances of winning and fall even further down the draft order. After losing ten straight games. Mr. Daboll isn’t apologizing for trying to finish the season strong.“It was good to see smiling faces after they laid it on the line,” he said. “They competed out there for 60 minutes. That’s what we preach. It’s good to get the result when you put as much into it as these guys do.”The New England Patriots play the Buffalo Bills in their season finale. Though the Bills have clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC, quarterback Josh Allen intends to at least start the game to keep his consecutive starts streak alive. That’s good news to Patriots fans, hoping New England loses to the Bills, and secure the top pick. Mr. Allen has started 104 consecutive games but isn’t expected to play very long on Sunday.“He wants to be out there with his teammates and so he will be out there for a very, very short-lived amount of time,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said.

Why Late-Season NFL Wins Feel Like Losses, Leaving Fans Feeling Deflated

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