The 2023 New York Giants were not supposed to be this bad. They were not supposed to be a historic dumpster fire, especially after a season in which they qualified for the postseason for the first time in six years.
But they are a dumpster fire and are on track to set franchise lows in points scored and point scored/allowed differential.
The Giants are in their 99th season of existence and in their history, have never finished last in the league in points scored. That might be about to change.
The Giants are currently scoring just 11.2 points per game. Over a 17-game season, that prorates to 190.4 points, which would be the third-lowest amount they’ve scored in a single season in the Super Bowl era.
They scored 170 points in 1976 and 181 in 1977. Let us remind you, the schedule was only 14 games back then.
The 12.1 points per game in 1976 is the Giants’ lowest PPG average in the Super Bowl era. They are on track to top that this year.
The lowest number of points scored in a single season in franchise history was 79 back in 1927 (13 games), followed by 93 in 1932 (12 games) and 115 in 1936 (12 games).
Since the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978, the fewest number of points the Giants have scored in a 16-game season was in 1979 when they scored 237. That averaged out to 14.8 points per game.
The Giants are allowing 24.1 points per game, which prorates out to 409.7 points over 17 games. Paired against the 190.4 points they are on track to score, the point differential would be negative -219.3.
That would be the second-highest negative point differential in team history behind 1966 (-238) when the Giants posted their worst record (1-12-1) ever.
That is how bad this season has been thus far. Surely, they can pull themselves out of this downward spiral but at this juncture one wonders how that can happen.
