Giants finish with winning streak but won't own top-two pick
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) makes the pass for a touchdown during the New York Giants vs the Dallas Cowboys football game at MetLife in East Rutherford, NJ, Sunday, January 5, 2026 Credit: Ed Murray
For all of the Giants’ struggles this season, in Sunday’s season finale, they succeeded at two things that would have seemed unlikely two weeks ago.
The first? Put together a winning streak. The Giants’ 34-17 victory over the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium gave them wins in consecutive games for the first time since 2023. It also snapped a nine-game losing streak against their NFC East rival and a 14-game losing streak against quarterback Dak Prescott.
The second? They won’t get the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. The win by the Giants means the Raiders will make the first selection. The Giants will pick fifth.
It doesn’t erase this being the worst two-year stretch in franchise history. The Giants (4-13) lost nine straight games this season — a year after losing a franchise-record 10 straight games — and blew five double-digit leads.
There was joy in the locker room — including a game ball for president/CEO John Mara, who is battling cancer — but rookie linebacker Abdul Carter broke up the mood with a statement that the constant losing must stop.
“I want to make it clear that this is not where we’re supposed to be,” Carter said of his message. “We can be happy and enjoy the win, but we got to come back and attack next year with the mindset . . . we can never be in this position again.”
The Giants played with that attitude Sunday.
Jaxson Dart threw a pair of touchdown passes to finish with 24 overall TDs in his rookie season (15 passing, nine rushing). Bobby Okereke had an interception for the second straight week and a fumble recovery. Tyrone Tracy Jr. ran for 103 yards on 18 carries, his first 100-yard game of the season, and surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards for the second straight season.
Gunner Olszewski finished with eight catches for 102 yards, both career highs. Rookie Ben Sauls was 4-for-4 on field goals.
It added up to the Giants’ first winning streak since Tommy DeVito led them to three straight wins from Nov. 19-Dec. 11, 2023.
“They never wavered. I know the results weren’t there, but the process was right,” interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “The way they went about it, the competitive stamina. They went about it to turn this thing around the last couple weeks and make a statement in terms of how they played and how they prepared [and] how they practiced.”
Dart, who completed 22 of 32 passes for 230 yards, showed some flair on his first touchdown pass. On third-and-16, he dodged a rush from James Houston and, before falling, made a long backhand flip up the field to tight end Daniel Bellinger, similar to a second baseman starting a double play. Bellinger raced away for a 29-yard touchdown, giving the Giants a 16-10 lead before halftime.
It was another reminder why Dart’s debut season was both exciting and promising.
“I was like, crap, I’ve got to make something happen here,” said Dart, whose 2,272 passing yards are second most for a Giants rookie. “He kind of got my facemask, so it made me stumble a little bit. I knew that [Bellinger] was kind of a little scot-free, so I just tried to give him an opportunity.”
The touchdown capped a 96-yard drive. Olszewski, who started the game with receiver Wan’Dale Robinson injured, contributed catches of 10 and 23 yards.
The Cowboys (7-9-1) pulled Dak Prescott at halftime in favor of backup Joe Milton as several starters rested. After the Giants forced a three-and-out to open the second half, Dart led the Giants on a 62-yard scoring drive capped by a 13-yard pass to Tracy.
After a mini-scuffle in which Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was disqualified for ripping off Greg Van Roten’s helmet, the Giants went for two and running back Devin Singletary took a direct snap before passing to Darius Slayton to make it 24-10.
Okereke’s fourth-quarter interception set up Singletary’s 6-yard touchdown run.
Now the focus shifts to an offseason in which the Giants must find a new coach to change their fortunes. The Giants have had double-digit losses in eight of their last nine seasons. They’re 13-38 since the start of 2023, the NFL’s second-worst record in that span, and 5-24 in their last 29 games.
That explains why Dart said he leads in a way that reflects his high expectations of turning the team around. It’s also why Carter is intent on making sure more success will be enjoyed in the 2026 season.
“I’m hurt right now. I want to keep playing,” he said. “I want to do more and I feel like we should be in a better position, and we’re not. I want to make sure we do everything in our power next year so we’re not in this position.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
More Giants
