Even when the Giants do something right – like playing their best ball in December and January – it still backfires.

While teams in the playoff hunt want to be clicking down the stretch, the Giants mostly are just lowering their draft position when they win late-season games. Since 2017, the NFL-worst Giants’ record of 12-29-1 (.298 winning percentage) in December and January actually represents a slight improvement over their record of 30-73 (.291) from September through November.

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So, news that the Giants took over possession of the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Sunday by virtue of the Titans beating the Browns was met with skepticism from fans that the team will win a game and mess up good fortune. After all, the No. 1 pick (likely would’ve been Cam Ward) slipped away in Week 17 of last season.

The Giants, Raiders and Titans all own 2-11 records, but the Giants’ opponents have a worse combined winning percentage (.534), which gives them the inside track. The Raiders (.548) are ahead of the Titans (.573).