NY Giants Have Something 'Special' This Season

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 2:00 PM ET

It’s easy to sometimes forget, in the wake of a big play on offense or a game-changing play made on defense, that the game of football has three elements–offense, defense, and special teams–all of which are important.

Special teams, in particular, are key, as it’s the unit that sets the starting field position —a factor that can sway the plays called on offense and defense.

For the New York Giants, after a few years of struggling to field a competent special teams unit, Big Blue finally has a unit of which it can be proud.

Starting with the return game, the Giants currently sit sixth in the league with an average of 27.2 yards per return, which tops their opponent’s kickoff return average by 5.5 yards and is the third-best in the league.

In the punt return game, the Giants are averaging 9.3 yards per return (22nd in the league), but they’ve held opponents to just a 4.7 yards-per-return average, which is the fourth-best mark in the league.

What about coverage? On kickoffs, the Giants’ opponents have had an average starting field position of -25.2, currently the best mark in the league, according to TruMedia (via the Locked On Giants podcast).

Meanwhile, the Giants’ average starting field position off kickoffs has been -31.7, the fourth-best mark in the league.

A recent example of the Giants' special teams flexing its muscle was last week’s win over the Eagles. Big Blue’s average starting field position was their own 36 to the Eagles’ 22.

The average starting field position on kickoffs again favors the Giants, who started on their 33-yard line versus the Eagles, starting on their own 23-yard line.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Giants' special teams have also been strong in the scoring department.

New York is one of five teams with a 100% conversion rate on field goals; their eight attempts are just behind the Eagles’ six among those five teams that have yet to miss a field goal.

And opponents have converted just 81.3% of their field goal attempts against the Giants, putting New York at 10th in the rankings.

“Yeah, they've been very impactful for us, really in every area, punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, field goal, field goal block,” head coach Brian Daboll said last week.

“I think our coaches have really done a good job with these guys, and these guys have bought into how important it is for our football team. They're playing with high energy, high effort, and they've done a nice job for us.”