Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who missed some practice this week due to an illness, felt a certain way after New York knocked off the Dallas Cowboys to end the regular season with back-to-back wins.
The victory handed the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Sick,” Lawrence said when asked how he felt Sunday night. “But I’m happy with how we fought these last two games. It would’ve been easy to roll over, but we finished strong.”
Strong is relative for the Giants, who lost nine in a row before beating the Raiders and Cowboys to finish 4-13, one win better than 2024. Beating the Cowboys is a new trick: Dallas had nine consecutive wins in the series entering Sunday.
“That’s longer than I thought,” Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. said of the losing streak to Dallas. “But to get a win today was obviously big to end a season, but (also) going into next season. And obviously, it feels a little bit better when you beat the Cowboys.”
Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka said co-owner John Mara was presented with the game ball in the postgame locker room. Kafka enters the offseason not knowing what’s next in New York and said the mission had nothing to do with draft position.
“All you are thinking about is the players and coaches and enjoying this win,” he said.
Kafka is expected to be interviewed for the permanent coaching position with the Giants in a crowded field that reportedly will include former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, former Giants linebacker and Raiders coach Antonio Pierce and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
General manager Joe Schoen said last month he anticipates meeting with ownership this week to determine the structure and scope of the coaching search. Schoen said he believes he can turn the franchise around, but his first hire with the Giants was Brian Daboll, who was fired after going 20-40-1.
