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5 storylines to follow after the bye week

BRIAN-DABOLL-STORYLINES

At the midpoint of the season, the Giants (6-2) are firmly in the playoff race. It is the franchise's best start since going 6-2 in 2012. The Giants are currently tied with the Dallas Cowboys for second place in the NFC East, with the Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) leading the division.

Five of the team's nine remaining home games will take place at MetLife Stadium. Of the four road games, two are against Washington and Philadelphia, with neither requiring a long flight.

Brian Daboll's squad has already exceeded expectations in the head coach's first season, but there is still a lot more for the young team to accomplish.

Here are five storylines to follow in the second half of the season.

1. More late-game magic to come?

Heading into Week 8, the Giants had accomplished something no team had done in NFL history. The Giants began the season 6-1 with all seven of their games decided by one possession. Their biggest win was an eight-point victory over the Chicago Bears, while their largest defeat was a seven-point loss against the Dallas Cowboys. That changed this past Sunday, of course, as the Giants fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 27-13. The Giants enter the bye with a plus-6 differential on the season.

Despite Sunday's two-possession loss, the Giants are still the leaders in the clubhouse when it comes to comebacks. Five of the team's six wins were come-from-behind wins, as Daniel Jones leads the NFL with five game-winning drives, two more than any other quarterback. The Giants entered Week 8 with the league's second-best scoring differential in the fourth quarter at plus-36. Even after the loss to Seattle, the Giants still sit at plus-25 in the final quarter. There is no doubt that this team believes they can win any close game going into the final frame.

"Our guys are confident," coach Daboll said after Sunday's loss. "We just didn't do enough today all the way around. Again, give Seattle credit. It's hard, the ball is important. We have to do a better job of taking care of it and executing and finishing drives, converting on some third downs, particularly early on in the game. A lot to work on."

"We are confident in our ability to do that," Jones said about the team being able to come from behind. "We had not done -- we had not played a great game up to that point but confident in our ability to close out games. Just didn't do enough down the stretch. Didn't make enough plays. Things we have to look back on and clean it up.

Re-live the season with the best photos from the Giants' 2022 playoff campaign.

2. Pivotal stretch against NFC East

As the NFL calendar flips to Week 9, the Giants have only had one matchup against another NFC East team. They fell to the Dallas Cowboys, 23-16, on Monday Night Football in Week 3. When the Giants come out of the bye week, they will have two straight home games against the Houston Texans (1-5-1) and Detroit Lions (1-6). Following the Week 11 contest against the Lions, the Giants will enter perhaps the most pivotal stretch of their schedule.

The Giants will travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in Week 12, seeking to split the season series. Following the mini bye that comes after the holiday contest, the Giants will welcome the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles to MetLife Stadium in Weeks 13-14 before taking on the Commanders on the road in Week 15.

Four consecutive NFC East matchups will likely go a long way in determining how far the Giants go this season. At a combined 23-8, the NFC East's combined winning percentage of .742 is the highest for a division through eight weeks since the merger in 1970, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Following the aforementioned difficult four-week stretch, the only remaining divisional matchup comes at Philadelphia in Week 18.

3. Getting healthier

The bye week comes at an ideal time for the Giants. The team is coming off three games on the road in the last four weeks, including the two longest trips of the season to London and Seattle. Daboll told the media on Monday that the players will get the rest of the week off starting on Tuesday, which should give the roster some much needed rest and relaxation. But it should also allow some time for the team to get healthier as they enter the second half of the season.

The Giants activated two players off injured reserve last week with offensive lineman Nick Gates and outside linebacker Elerson Smith playing in Week 8. Two other players on reserve returned to practice in tackle Matt Peart and cornerback Rodarius Williams. Others who could return at some point in the second half of the season include Shane Lemieux, Azeez Ojulari, Aaron Robinson, Tony Jefferson and Ben Bredeson.

The week off should also give time for a few injured players not on IR to get closer to returning to the field. Tight end Daniel Bellinger (eye), CB Cor'Dale Flott (calf), WR Kenny Golladay (knee), T Evan Neal (knee) and OLB Oshane Ximines (quad) are working their way back from their respective injuries. Coach Daboll would not commit to anyone's return out of the bye.

4. Will the offense get going?

The Giants offense currently ranks 21st in points and 26th in yards this season. The most points they've scored in a game this year is 27 against the Packers, while their highest yardage total came in Week 7 against the Jaguars (436 yards). But a lot of the offensive production this season has come in the run game, which has been one of the most productive in the league.

Heading into Week 9, the Giants rank top 5 in rush attempts (263), yards (1,292) and touchdowns (10). The rushing attack is led by fifth-year running back Saquon Barkley, who has been producing at an elite level. Barkley's 779 rushing yards rank second in the NFL behind Cleveland's Nick Chubb. Barkley is also second in the league with 968 all-purpose yards, trailing only Miami's Tyreek Hill, and has scored five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Daniel Jones has added 363 rushing yards, which ranks third among quarterbacks, while his three rushing touchdowns is tied for the second at his position.

Although the run game has been producing at a high level, the passing game has struggled to get going. The Giants rank 30th in passing yards and touchdowns as Jones has topped 200 passing yards only twice in the first eight games. Overall, he's completed 65.0 percent of his passes for 1,399 yards and six touchdowns, but only two interceptions. In fact, the Giants rank third in the NFL with only three interceptions, one of which came from Tyrod Taylor.

Barkley leads the team with 28 receptions, but the leading receiver in yards is wideout Darius Slayton. Slayton has led the team in receiving in three of the last four games, totaling 15 receptions for 221 yards and a touchdown during that stretch.

5. Rookies continue to grow

The Giants have thrown their rookie class right into the thick of things this season. On both sides of the ball, the team's first-year players have played big roles and seen plenty of action.

Five of the team's 11 draft picks were offensive players. Sixth-round draft choice Marcus McKethan tore his ACL during training camp, which will force the offensive lineman to miss his entire rookie season. But the other four offensive rookies have all started games this season.

No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal started every game in the first seven weeks before a knee injury suffered in Week 7 led to him missing Sunday's game in Seattle. Other than briefly departing the Week 4 matchup against the Bears, Neal hadn't missed a single offensive snap and was beginning to show signs of improvement prior to last week's injury. With Ben Bredeson also getting hurt last week, third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu filled in at right guard against the Jaguars and started this past Sunday. Second-round pick Wan'Dale Robinson missed four games due to a knee injury but has returned to play in the last three contests. The young wide receiver has registered 11 receptions for 102 yards and his first- career touchdown during that stretch and has played 69 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the last two weeks. Fourth-round tight end Daniel Bellinger had also been playing well before an eye injury suffered against Jacksonville forced him to miss the final game before the bye. Despite missing Week 8 and not receiving a target in the season opener, Bellinger is still tied for third on the team with 16 receptions and has gained 152 yards. He is the only player on the team with two receiving touchdowns, and even added a touchdown on the ground.

On defense, linebacker Darrian Beavers tore his ACL during the preseason, sidelining him for the year. Defensive lineman D.J. Davidson also suffered a season-ending injury a couple of weeks ago, while cornerback Cor'Dale Flott has been out since going down with a calf injury in Week 3. No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux has seen a lot of playing time since returning from his knee injury suffered during the preseason. The outside linebacker has played at least 74 percent of the team's defensive snaps in each of the last five games. On the season, Thibodeaux has one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, three passes defensed, three quarterback hits and 14 total tackles (10 solo). Fourth-round pick Dane Belton has made his presence felt with two fumble recoveries in seven games (two starts) to go with 19 total tackles (15 solo). Meanwhile, fifth-round pick Micah McFadden just picked up his first career sack against the Jaguars and has started one game this year. Then there's undrafted outside linebacker Tomon Fox, who led the team with two tackles for loss and six run stops in Week 8. He picked up his first NFL sack earlier in the year.

View photos from the 2022 rookie class in action during the first half of the season.

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