Heart of a Giant Award winner meets NY Giants’ Dexter Lawrence
Old Tappan football player accepts Heart of a Giant Award and Super Bowl LX tickets, meets Giants lineman Dexter Lawrence.
It’s a battle for the No. 1 overall pick when the New York Giants (2-13) travel to the Sin City to face off against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-13) in their final road game this season in Week 17.
The Giants offense was held without a touchdown in a 16-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium last weekend.
The Raiders kept pace with the Texans but fell short in a 23-21 defeat in Houston in Week 16.
The Giants and Raiders head into this penultimate game of the regular season owning the top two picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, according to Tankathon.com, which projects the order based on standings and strength of schedule (SOS).
The loser of this game has the clear inside path to owning the top overall selection while the victor essentially eliminated any chance of picking at the top spot next April in Pittsburgh, the site of the 2026 Draft.
Our prognosticators throughout the 2025 season are: Art Stapleton (Giants/NFL writer, NorthJersey.com), Bert Bainbridge (sports trending reporter/columnist, NorthJersey.com), Brian Marron (digital producer, NorthJersey.com), Chris Iseman (Rutgers writer, NorthJersey.com), Bob Jordan (sports editor, Asbury Park Press/APP.com) and Dave Rivera (sports editor, USA TODAY Northeast/NorthJersey.com).
Giants vs Raiders NFL Week 17 predictions, staff standings
Bert Bainbridge: 11-3
Chris Iseman: 11-4
Dave Rivera: 10-5
Art Stapleton: 9-6
Brian Marron: 9-6
Bob Jordan: 9-6
Who will win this battle for the No. 1 overall pick next April?
Here are our staff predictions for Giants vs. Raiders from Las Vegas in Week 17:
Bert Bainbridge
The pick: Giants 27, Raiders 24
Here’s why: The Giants offense had just a measly 140 total yards last week against the Vikings where the offense scored only 13 points and the offense didn’t score a touchdown. Going from facing a Minnesota defense led by potential future Giants’ head coach candidate Brian Flores to the Raiders defense led by former Giants’ DC Patrick Graham couldn’t be more polar opposites for Jaxson Dart and this offense.
Dart and Co. will have a much better performance in this one, as the G-Men spoil their chances of owning the No. 1 overall pick by hanging on to the beat the Raiders and “improve” to 3-13 heading into the regular season finale next week versus the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife.
Bob Jordan
The pick: Raiders 14, Giants 6
Here’s why: The Jets in 2020 were well on their way to the No. 1 overall pick (Trevor Lawrence) with an 0-13 record when they shocked the 9-4 Rams. Memo to Giants: Don’t be like the Jets.