Jayden Daniels, Saquon Barkley crashing all-NFC East Championship Game portends more Giants dark days

There is thing much embarrassing for the Giants than Saquon Barkley’s superstar detonation heavy into his archetypal NFL playoffs with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But determination is thing worse:

The simultaneous ascension of Washington rookie backmost Jayden Daniels to contiguous elite presumption successful the nation’s capital.

Two years ago, successful Jan. 2023, Giants GM Joe Schoen said: “There’s a endowment gap determination that we request to close, and to me, it’s the NFC East.”

Now, Sunday’s upcoming all-NFC East Championship Game astatine Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field isn’t conscionable a commentary connected a peculiar 2024 play for Nick Sirianni’s and Dan Quinn’s teams.

It is also, from a Giants perspective, reinforcing a frightening world successful their division:

Schoen created a monster successful Philadelphia by letting Barkley’s declaration negotiations go contentious earlier letting him locomotion to New York’s biggest rival successful escaped agency:

Barkley, portion playing each down with a colossal spot connected his shoulder, has 2,329 full rushing yards this regular play and postseason aft his 205 yards and 2 touchdowns successful Sunday’s 28-22 Divisional Round triumph implicit the L.A. Rams.

He is lone 148 yards shy of breaking Terrell Davis’ all-time grounds of 2,476 from 1998.

Barkley volition crook conscionable 28 years aged connected Feb. 9. And Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s draught picks of antiaircraft tackle Jalen Carter, halfway Cam Jurgens and country Quinyon Mitchell – positive his signing of linebacker Zack Baun – person restocked the Birds for some the contiguous and future.

Then determination is Washington. Daniels, 24, is already 1 of the amended quarterbacks successful the full NFL arsenic a rookie.

In December, erstwhile NFL employees were going astir locker rooms polling players astir the league’s apical 20 talents for the yearly Top 100 list, Daniels was getting immoderate votes.

As 1 of the champion 20 players successful the NFL.

When Giants rookie Malik Nabers, Daniels’ erstwhile LSU teammate, was asked if helium tin replicate that occurrence and rapport with the Daniels successful the NFL with a caller franchise quarterback, helium enactment his assurance successful context:

“I mean, I’m definite I can, but that kinda dude that you conscionable mentioned, though, he’s different. He conscionable changed his franchise around,” Nabers said of Daniels connected the Giants’ Jan. 6 breakup day. “He’s a large quarterback. It helped maine for sure. But I’m not definite however my steps are gonna look with different QB, consistency. I don’t know. I conjecture we’ll person to see.”

Daniels’ 299 passing yards and 2 touchdown passes successful the Commanders’ 45-31 upset of the No. 1-seeded Lions successful Detroit reinforced wherefore helium is much than conscionable an breathtaking rookie.

Daniels, who has dual menace ability, is maturing rapidly and has been playing arsenic a passer first.

He did tally 16 times for 51 yards and has the quality to alteration games with his legs. But his 42-yard and 38-yard downfield shots to wide receiver Dyami Brown were shots heard ’round the league.

There are not galore quarterbacks who endanger each inch of the tract erstwhile they instrumentality the drawback and driblet back. But Daniels is 1 of them.

His 271 combined passing and rushing yards connected Saturday were the astir successful the archetypal fractional of a playoff crippled since Tom Brady had 282 successful the Patriots’ Super Bowl LII nonaccomplishment to the Eagles.

And astir importantly, helium present has won his archetypal 2 vocation NFL playoff games without turning the shot implicit adjacent once.

“I ever believe,” Daniels said.

Certainly, Washington GM Adam Peters and Quinn volition person enactment to bash to proceed reinforcing and gathering the roster they inherited astir Daniels. But successful nonrecreational football, uncovering the prima backmost is the astir hard portion of the puzzle.

And they’ve done that.

They besides look astute for drafting Michigan country Mike Sainistril astatine No. 50 wide 3 slots aft the Giants took Minnesota information Tyler Nubin astatine No. 47. Sainistril snagged 2 interceptions of Jared Goff successful Saturday’s upset.

The Giants — who missed retired connected coveted corners Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 41 to the Saints) and Kamari Lassiter (No. 42 to Houston) owed to Schoen’s commercialized of the No. 39 prime for borderline rusher Brian Burns — past made a need-based prime astatine information owed to Xavier McKinney’s departure to Green Bay instead. Then they took Kentucky country Dru Phillips successful the third.

The Giants went 0-6 successful the NFC East this season, and Schoen and Brian Daboll are 4-14-1 successful part since they took over: 0-6 against the Dallas Cowboys, 1-6 against the Eagles and 3-2-1 against Washington, including 0-2 against Daniels.

The Giants were outscored 143-91 successful their six part losses this season. That 0-6 grounds included a nonaccomplishment to the Eagles successful which Philly rested astir each of its starters.

And present 1 of the Giants’ part rivals is guaranteed to correspond the NFC successful the Super Bowl during a twelvemonth erstwhile the Giants (3-14) tied for the worst grounds successful the full league.

The NFC East endowment spread that Schoen noted hasn’t closed. It has widened – significantly. The Giants’ ineptitude has helped make and compound the problem.

And that’s what makes co-owner John Mara’s determination to instrumentality nary enactment connected his GM oregon manager that overmuch much ridiculous: helium has accepted it arsenic the Giants’ caller world for present and the foreseeable future, and crossed his fingers that thing volition change.