How Patrick Mahomes' injury affects the Giants' chances for No. 1 pick in draft
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes grabs his knee after tearing his ACL during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chargers on Dec. 14 in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Reed Hoffmann
The Giants didn’t have any major injuries in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders. But an injury a time zone away might have helped their chances for the No. 1 pick.
Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL Sunday and Kansas City’s streak of 10 straight playoff-qualifying seasons ended soon after. The three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback had surgery Monday and it humanized a player who’s done superhuman things while becoming the face of the NFL.
Mahomes, of course, helped begin the Jaxson Dart era. Kansas City’s win over the Giants in Week 3 ended the Russell Wilson experiment. After starting 0-3, Dart became the starting quarterback.
Now, Mahomes could assist the Giants one more time. At 2-12, the Giants share the NFL’s worst record with the Titans and Raiders.
The Titans host Kansas City Sunday and the Raiders end the season hosting Kansas City. Without Mahomes, the team becomes a more vulnerable opponent, even for two teams that have looked dismal all season.
Of course, the Giants aren’t worried about that. They’re trying to end this eight-game losing streak, not look at other team’s situations or focus on draft positioning.
“We don’t really look three weeks ahead. Just taking it week-by-week, day-by-day, whatever is important in the moment,” running back Tyrone Tracy said.
That said, how do the final stages of the No. 1 pick race shape out? Let’s consider the shape of these last three teams.
The Giants host the Vikings Sunday, go to the Raiders next week and end the season hosting the Cowboys. The Raiders go to Houston and host the Giants and Kansas City. After hosting Kansas City, the Titans face the Saints and end at the Jaguars.
It’s likely the Giants lose two of those games. The Vikings looked good beating the Commanders and Cowboys the last two weeks. The Cowboys have a nine-game winning streak over the Giants and unlike in that thrilling Week 2 loss, the Giants don’t have receiver Malik Nabers to exploit a porous Cowboys secondary.
That leaves Week 17 at the Raiders. Whoever wins that game likely drops out of the No. 1 pick race. In a twisted way, that’s a must-see game for draft positioning, regardless how ugly it could be.
The Raiders, also on an eight-game losing streak, are last in scoring and total offense. They face a Texans team Sunday that’s won six straight and is ranked first in total defense.
It’s also hard to see them beating Kansas City, even without Mahomes. If the Giants can’t beat the Raiders in Week 17, it’s an indictment — and one that might affect general manager Joe Schoen’s job status.
As for the Titans? They beat the Browns two weeks ago to give the Giants and Raiders a chance at the No. 1 pick. But that victory didn’t change that the Titans are 31st in scoring and total offense, while giving up 30.3 points over their last four games.
Their best chance to win might not be against Kansas City, who still have a great defense to throw at rookie quarterback Cam Ward. The Titans could beat the Saints in Week 17, but the Saints have won two straight and appear to have turned a slight corner.
The Jaguars could be tricky. If they clinch a playoff spot over the next two weeks, might they rest their starters for that finale with the Titans? That would help the Titans’ odds to win. But if the Jaguars don’t have a playoff berth locked up, then it’s full speed ahead and the Titans will be in for a fight.
None of this matters to the Giants, since winning out remains the main goal.
“If you’re a true competitor, every time you step on the field, you’re trying to win the game,” tackle Andrew Thomas said. “I don’t think we have guys in our locker room that are focused on that type of thing.”
The Giants may not be thinking about it, but fans are. Now, Mahomes’ injury adds one more wrinkle of intrigue to how the Giants will be compensated for this disappointing season.
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.
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