John Harbaugh isn’t going to call a single play for the New York Giants. So the coach’s imprint on the team must come in other ways. A lot of that influence comes from intangibles, like setting a culture. A major piece of that process has been establishing a meritocracy. Every coach claims to disregard salary and draft pedigree, but Harbaugh has followed through when making roster decisions.

It bears noting that it’s easy to make these types of decisions in Year 1 of a new regime with inherited players. It could become tougher to bench players whom Harbaugh decided to pay or draft, but he has established a clear meritocracy in his first year.

Demonstrated Strengths: Harbaugh has provided an immediate culture reset, stabilizing the franchise. Despite several supposedly back-breaking injuries, he’s got a rebuilding team in first place and tied for the NFC lead with eight takeaways.

Needs Improvement: They actually came extremely close to losing to the bad Cardinals and worse Titans. Let’s see how they fare when the schedule toughens up in November and December. Grade: A

What we’re hearing on the Giants: Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson called blitzes on 51% of the Cardinals’ dropbacks last week. That was up significantly from the 23% of plays in which he sent an extra pass rusher during the first three weeks of the season. It’s part of the solution with Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns (knee) out for the season. It’s likely a trend that will continue against Washington QB Jayden Daniels. Daniels has completed 57.5% of his passes against the blitz since entering the NFL in 2024, the fifth-lowest rate during that time.

The uncanny ability to turn close calls into despair and transform impending victory into crushing defeat led to the demise of the Giants. 

They were 1-8 in one-score games in 2024. They were 1-7 in one-score games in 2025. When it was time for the outcome to be decided, it almost always went the wrong way. 

“But with Charlie, another veteran guy, it’s not like going from a vet to a rookie. This is going back to another veteran guy,” Horton said. “When you’ve got two guys like that, you feel pretty good about what you’ve got going back there. We’ve got all the confidence in Charlie, and he’ll do well.”

What Horton wants from him is specific. Confidence comes first. After that, it’s fielding the ball cleanly and making the right decision once the return is in his hands. Speed is the rest of it. “Just, one, confidence. He’s a confident guy. Two, his ability to just catch the ball. One of the things we talk about the most is just really just being able to field the ball and make great decisions. So, in those situations, and then speed. This guy is fast. He can run, and he’ll do a good job for us,” Horton said.