The (4-13) New York Giants concluded their 2025 season with a 34-17 victory over the (7-9-1) Dallas Cowboys. It also marked the first time since Weeks 11-14 of the 2023 season that the Giants have won consecutive games.
Some fans might be disappointed that their team won on Sunday, as they no longer have the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, and will now pick anywhere from third to sixth, depending on the remaining games on the Week 18 schedule.
The two-game winning streak cannot erase the disappointment of a 4-13 season, as the team will now enter the offseason, where the top priority will be to find its next head coach, who can change the culture of the franchise. But for now, we’ll take a look at the biggest takeaways from the season finale.
Giants finally ended losing streak to Dak Prescott’s Cowboys
The victory was their first against Dallas since the 2020 season finale, and it was the first time they beat a Dak Prescott-led team since Week 14 of the 2016 season. Prescott had beaten the Giants in 14 consecutive games heading into Sunday’s contest.
Although it was clear that winning was not a priority for Dallas, as Prescott didn’t play in the second half with New York up 16-10, New York needed to end their losing streak to their division rival. Division games are always important, and most of the players on the roster finally have a taste of what it’s like to defeat the Cowboys.
Jaxson Dart has shown why NY’s head coaching job is attractive
Jaxson Dart finished his rookie season by completing 22 out of 32 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns. For the year, he has 24 total touchdowns to just five interceptions. These are impressive numbers, especially when you consider the fact that he only played with Malik Nabers for four offensive series.
The 22-year-old quarterback is one of the most physically gifted young quarterbacks in the league, and he showed this on Sunday when he avoided a sack and flicked a pass to Daniel Bellinger, who ran 29 yards for a touchdown. One area Dart must improve on is avoiding unnecessary hits. But that can be fixed with experience and coaching.
Due to what Dart showed as a rookie, he is why the Giants’ head coaching job is an attractive job that several coaches will be vying for. In order to have success in this league, you must have a capable starting quarterback who can motivate his teammates, which is what New York has. Whoever gets named the next head coach will inherit a quarterback who can make plays with his arm and legs, and with a healthy Nabers, could have the team in playoff contention next season.
They may have finally found their placekicker
One of the positives going into next season is that the team may have finally found its placekicker in Ben Sauls. The kicking game has been an issue for New York for the last few years and has cost them games, but those issues appear to be a thing of the past.
Sauls was signed to the practice squad in November and made his first start in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings. Coming into Sunday, the 24-year-old place kicker converted on all four of his field goal attempts. The left-footed kicker connected on four more field goals against Dallas of 23, 30, 35, and 45 yards.
Sauls has shown that he deserves to be on top of the depth chart when training camp opens in July.
Related: NFL Power Rankings 2025: Week-by-Week NFL Evaluations of All 32 Teams
