Copyright phillyvoice
Week 8 of the NFL season is in the books, and four NFC teams had byes, while the biggest Super Bowl contenders that did play won their games. We have one new obituary this week, the New York Giants, who are being eulogized before November, as usual. Obituary: Giants (2-6) As we detailed this summer, it was absolute insanity that the Giants allowed Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll to keep their jobs as the team's general manager and head coach, respectively. Daboll and Schoen were both hired during the 2022 offseason, and there were immediate results, as the Giants finished with a 9-7-1 record, and a trip to the playoffs. It's been a steep downhill trajectory since. In 2023, they finished 6-11 with a -141 point differential, before a disastrous 2024 season during which they finished 3-14 with a -142 point differential. Their three-year tenure resulted in a cumulative record of 18-32-1 (0.370). That type of three-year sample size typically results in termination. But Schoen and Daboll each got another year, and while the product on the field isn't quite as egregiously bad this season as it was the last two — especially with some positive moments from rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart — the results are basically the same, as the Giants have a 2-6 record and their season is over before Halloween. Daboll's career record is now 20-38-1. He has a -18 win-loss differential, which is worst among all active head coaches. The following chart is a look at every active head coach, and their win-loss totals with their current team: If you get to a point where you're -18, you've (a) lost a lot of games (duh), but also (b) you've have more than enough time to right the ship. Since 2022, 17 head coaches have been fired, and two — Bill Belichick (Patriots) and Mike McCarthy (Cowboys) — were categorized as "mutual decisions" to part ways. Here are those 17 head coaches (18 if you count Frank Reich twice) who have been canned in the last three years, and what their win-loss differentials were at the time of their firings: As you can see, Daboll's -18 win-loss differential matches the worst win-loss differential of the above fired coaches. But also, Daboll is just generally an embarrassment, as he throws temper tantrums on the sideline in every game, directed at officials, players, and even the team doctor, lol. His latest sideline blowup, from Sunday: Daboll is way past the "hot seat," and is very much into "How the hell is this guy still the coach of an NFL team" territory. After the Giants parted ways with Tom Coughlin, they have cycled through a bunch of bad head coaches: • Ben McAdoo (2016-2017)• Pat Shurmur (2018-2019)• Joe Judge (2020-2021)• Brian Daboll (2022-present) McAdoo, Shurmur, and Judge didn't make it to three year on the job. I guess John Mara wanted to be more patient this time around, and the guy he chose to stick around longer with was this meathead? Lol. Daboll will almost certainly be fired, and if Mara's next hire is anything like his last four — and frankly, his GM hires of Dave Gettleman and Schoen have been even worse — then the Giants will continue to be one of the worst franchises in the NFL a while longer. Last week: 12 12) Commanders (3-5): The Chiefs played like crap for a half of football on Monday night against the Commanders, and yet it never really felt like the Commanders had a chance of winning that game. The NFC East standings now look like this: The Commanders' slide back into mediocrity was one of the easiest things to predict this offseason, but they've been worse than even the doubters could have expected. They have lost three straight, and oh hey, their next two opponents are the Seahawks coming off a bye and a Lions team that probably can't wait to get another crack at them after what happened in the divisional round a year ago. Last week: 13 10) Panthers (4-4): My "Not as good as their record" power rankings: Panthers (4-4)Steelers (4-3)Jaguars (4-3)Bears (4-3)49ers (5-3) Last week: 10 They have held three of seven opponents to single-digit points. Last week: 4 4) Buccaneers (6-2): The Bucs have weathered significant injuries through the first half-(ish) of their season, and they'll head into their bye in good shape at 6-2, with no real threats within the NFC South. Here are the odds of each division leader winning their divisions this season, via Inpredictable: Buccaneers, NFC South: 89%Eagles, NFC East: 84%Colts, AFC South: 83%Packers, NFC North: 54%Patriots, AFC East: 51%Steelers, AFC North: 41%Broncos, AFC West: 38%Seahawks, NFC West: 29% Last week: 3 They got a long run from Saquon Barkley, and other explosive plays.Jalen Hurts didn't throw a lot of passes, but was efficient when he did.The offensive line moved defenders against their will.The defensive line buzzed around the opposing quarterback all day.
