Former MVP has bold take about last Giants playoff win

One-time Most Valuable Player and current NFL analyst Boomer Esiason believes the current state of the New York Giants is a direct result of the club's playoff win at the Minnesota Vikings in January 2023. 

"Where are they headed? What are they doing? Where are they going? I think that win in Minnesota put them back two years," Esiason said about the Giants during the WFAN "Boomer and Gio" program, according to Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "It was great, it was unexpected…but look at all the turmoil."

General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll both joined the Giants in January 2022, and they later declined the fifth-year option attached to the rookie contract for quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones and running back Saquon Barkley then helped the 2022 Giants earn a playoff berth and the postseason victory at the Vikings, and Schoen ultimately held onto those players in different ways. 

Jones signed a four-year contract reportedly worth up to $160M that the Giants can escape next offseason. His deal allowed Schoen to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on Barkley, and Barkley eventually inked an adjusted tag to report to training camp on time. 

Things within the Giants fell apart from there. Jones suffered a second neck injury since the fall of 2021 and then went down with a torn ACL in November that apparently resulted in Schoen and Daboll losing any remaining confidence they had in the 26-year-old. Meanwhile, it's now known Schoen had no real interest in giving Barkley the type of contract the ball carrier wanted this offseason. Barkley will soon join the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent after the new league year opens on Wednesday. 

"When you think about the Giants over the last year, and all of the uncertainty and all the crap going on with the coaching staff, and the quarterback gets hurt again…until they have a final answer at quarterback, they’re not gonna compete," Esiason added. 

Specifically, Esiason was referencing how Daboll's alleged "madman" demeanor on gamedays and behind the scenes helped run popular defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale out of town in January. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka also tried to leave the team this winter but now has the title of assistant head coach added to his résumé.

Schoen seemingly has "buyer's remorse" regarding the Jones contract and reportedly could be asked to package the sixth overall pick of this year's draft along with three second-round selections in a trade to move up and grab a top-tier quarterback prospect this spring. The Giants theoretically could've started such a rebuild last winter had they finished the 2022 season at 6-11, but the organization is instead a victim of its own short-term success.