The result of Sunday’s game between the Giants and Raiders will have a long-lasting impact on both franchises.
The loser will be the only two-win team in the league and have the inside track to the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft with one game remaining. (For the Giants, that’s a home game against Dallas on either Jan. 3 or 4.)
With the Giants within arm’s reach of securing the top pick for the first time since 1965, do fans want the team to lose in Las Vegas?
“I hope that they lose,” Steve Rice, 76, of Merrick, told Newsday. “I’ll root for them every step of the way, but I hope they lose. I watched every minute of last Sunday (a 16-13 home loss to Minnesota), as excruciating as it was, and I think that the game plan was designed so that the players could play as hard as they wanted, but they would lose anyway.”
Most Giants fans are on the same wavelength, but it was harder to admit they could be rooting for a loss.
“That’s hard to say because I don’t like losing,” said Mike Manara, 50, of Farmingdale. “I’ll take any wins, but I would like the No. 1 pick.”
Liv Schmidt, 29, of East Rockaway, said: “I don’t even like to say that I want them to lose because that’s so not like me because I’m such a die-hard fan. But if it comes down to future-wise, the business decision is yes, I want them to have the first overall pick. But at the same time, it hurts my heart saying that.”
Farmingdale’s Ed Murphy, 50, left, with his son, Kylan Murphy and daughter Ashlyn Murphy. Credit: Ed Murphy
And from Ed Murphy, 50, of Farmingdale: “We’re going to watch Sunday and we’re going to root for the Giants. It’s funny, even when I want them to lose, I can’t help but get excited when Spider-Man (Brian Burns) gets a sack or (Jaxson) Dart throws a dime for a (touchdown).
“Do I want them to lose? No, I don’t. I don’t want them to lose. If they did lose, would I be upset? I mean, is 3-13 better than 2-14? It doesn’t matter.”
The biggest caveat in the Giants’ trudge to the top of the draft is the presence of Dart, who most believe is the franchise quarterback. The No. 1 pick typically is used for quarterbacks, with Indiana star and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza looking like the top option this cycle.
Port Washington’s Nathan Abramowitz, 25, in a Giants’ Lawrence Taylor jersey. Credit: Nathan Abramowitz
Because of what the Giants are building with Dart, some fans are indifferent to the prospect of picking first.
“I’m not as big on it as other people,” said Nathan Abramowitz, 25, of Port Washington. “I wouldn’t mind losing (Sunday) out of all games, but I think there’s definitely something to be said about winning games. Come next year, we’ll have 30 of the same 52 guys, and I think building a winning culture is an important thing.”
The fans Newsday spoke to are in consensus on one thing: if the Giants get the first overall pick, trade it.
“I think Dart will be good, but I’d like to see them trade out,” Manara said.
One of the most obvious quarterback-needy teams, again, is the Jets. After a busy trade deadline that included trading defensive cornerstones Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, the Jets have two first-rounders and two second-rounders in 2026 and three first-rounders in 2027.
Could fans imagine a trade of that significance, with the Giants gaining capital while potentially helping the Jets climb out of the gutter?
“That would be amazing,” Abramowitz said. “I think Mendoza would be great on the Jets, and we could trade notes after many years. It would be a fun trade.”
Said Rice: “If it’s an issue, then I think it just highlights some level of incompetence on the part of the Giants front office. I don’t know what other team absolutely needs a quarterback right now as badly as the Jets do.”
For Giants fans who are not as fond of the Jets, they would enjoy a trade with them for other reasons.
“I wouldn’t hate it if it’s the Jets, but they’re a dumpster fire,” Schmidt said. “So I feel for the person that would be chosen by the Jets.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports’ general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins’ teams.