One of the real virtues of the NFL is that almost every game counts for something. Part of that is because almost half the teams make the playoffs. But even for those that have no shot at the postseason, late season matchups can still mean a whole lot. That’s because once you’re done with this season, like the case in New York and New England, fans get the chance to look ahead to next year. Some of that might come in playing backups to see if there’s hidden talent on the sidelines – and news flash, there usually isn’t. But for truly awful teams, the closing NFL games are all about position for the NFL draft, where you can magically find singular talent that will transform your destiny from loser to contender. Which is why for NFL fans, finishing last is sometimes the next best thing to finishing first.
That was the sentiment for fans of the NY Giants, who coming into last weekend with only two games remaining had the worst record in the league and were poised to have first choice of all eligible talent joining the NFL next season. That was especially relevant for the Giants, who officially abandoned the Daniel Jones experiment and were now playing third string Tim Boyle at quarterback, a journeyman who had played a total of 22 games over seven years in the league. Which means a) there seemed no way the G-men would add to their two wins this year, and b) how lucky for Giants fans that their team would get to pick first this year so they could draft one of the two top ranked college QBs in Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Instead of losing to the Colts, who were still playing for a playoff spot, Tim Boyle turned into Dan Marino and the Giants somehow put up 45 points to win the game and, in turn, drop to fourth on the draft board. And with two of the three teams ahead of them also needing QBs, Sunday’s win might have been a huge loss for Big Blue next year and beyond. At least that’s the general consensus on sports twitter and in the semi-decipherable rant my 17-year-old son went on after the game was over. And unless both the Giants lose and one of the three teams ahead, or below them lose next week – and they’re all on long losing streaks – it seems like last week’s win might be one of the most painful losses in team history.
This creates one of the stranger questions that permeates the sporting experience. Namely, is it better to lose if you think it might help you win in the long run, commonly known as tanking, and what does this quandary do to the integrity of sports. Coaches and players will tell you they won’t do it, or at least not by choice, and that makes sense, especially for players who are often competing for their own roster spot and are far less concerned about someone else’s career. Owners seem far more amenable to the concept, as evidenced by the number who experiment with backup talent in the closing moments of the season. And by all accounts, fans are all in, because the only thing better than a win today is a whole lot of wins later on. Some professional leagues, notably the NBA, have created rules to mitigate the phenomenon, creating draft order through a mix of standings and lottery, meaning no single game can change your fate – but a ping pong ball might.
Regardless, there’s two relevant points to be made here. One, it’s a reminder that for a whole lot of folks in sports, especially fans, the opportunity to win a championship is far more vital than the sporting experience itself and all the enjoyment you might get from it. So as much as we like to remind young athletes that playing the game is far more important than the result, something I actually believe, that lesson is not well retained. Second, all these upset Giants fans should remember that before the Chiefs took Patrick Mahomes in 2017, the Bears picked Mitchel Trubisky. And before the Bills got Josh Allen in 2018, the Jets picked Sam Darnold. So as you can see, picking first doesn’t always work out like you expect. In the NFL, you just can’t know the future. In fact, the only thing we do know, is that every game counts.
Keith Strudler is the Dean of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler
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