The New York Giants have signed off with a victory after beating the Dallas Cowboys in their final game of the season – much to the frustration of their fans.
With the team already eliminated from playoff contention, a large majority of Giants supporters were hoping for a defeat against the Cowboys to ensure they finish with no worse than the No. 2 pick at this year’s NFL Draft.
And if the Las Vegas Raiders went on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs later in the afternoon, they would have snatched the No. 1 pick by losing to Dallas.
Yet on the final day of what has been another dismal year for the franchise, in somewhat fitting fashion, New York provided the result their fans didn’t want to see at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart instead lead the Giants to a superb 34-17 win in New Jersey, completing 22 of his 32 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
It means there is no way for the franchise to secure the top pick in the 2026 draft, while they could now fall to as low as the No 7 pick if other results don’t go their way on Sunday.
The New York Giants have missed out on the No. 1 draft pick after beating the Dallas Cowboys
Several Giants fans were hoping for a loss to ensure they clinched at least the No. 2 pick
‘Absolute disgrace,’ one Giants fan wrote on X. ‘Play like trash all year, then win 2 pointless games that plummet our draft position. This whole franchise is rotten and clueless.’
‘F*** the @Giants and their culture wins,’ said another. ‘They did it again. They’re the only team stupid enough to win against a team very obviously tanking a game to hurt the other team’s draft stock. Its such a hard team to root for I stg. F*** them’.
A third fumed: ‘Giants constantly shooting themselves in the foot by winning meaningless games to destroy their draft position is tale as old as time. We had the 1st pick locked up last week if we lost, and now we will fall to 7 with another win this week. So f***ing stupid. Worst run team’.
While a fourth put sarcastically: ‘Love a meaningless win that takes us out of great draft position.’
As well as sealing the top pick for Las Vegas, the Giants’ win over the Cowboys is also music to the ears of their city rivals, with the Jets now in line for the No. 2 pick if they lose to the Buffalo Bills later in the evening.
The Tennessee Titans have been bumped up to second in the meantime after their final-day loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Arizona Cardinals currently hold the No. 4 pick.
However, defeat to the Los Angeles Rams would see Arizona take the No. 3 pick ahead of Tennessee. Should the Jets beat the Bills, they would move up to No. 2.
Their defeat means Mark Davis’ Las Vegas Raiders have secured the top draft pick in 2026
The New York Jets will take the second pick if they suffer defeat to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday
Jaxson Dart threw two touchdown passes in an impressive display against the Cowboys
Dart threw the 14th and 15th touchdown passes of his rookie year as the Giants ended their lost season on a two-game winning streak by beating the Cowboys.
The 22-year-old had said he cares more about winning than draft position and played like it in his 12th professional start with touchdown passes to Daniel Bellinger – on a shovel pass-and-run – and Tyrone Tracy.
While the Giants were shorthanded because of injuries and illnesses, they treated this like any other game with their starters going the distance. Dallas (7-9-1) took it more like an exhibition game, including Dak Prescott exiting after halftime.
Prescott completed seven of 11 passes for 70 yards and lost a fumble off a botched snap before being replaced at quarterback by Joe Milton to begin the third quarter. He finished the season with 4,552 yards passing, the second most of his decade-long career behind only 4,902 in 2019.
Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah each rushed for their first NFL touchdowns for the Cowboys, who lost to the Giants for the first time since the 2020 season finale on Jan. 3, 2021. They had won nine consecutive meetings and Prescott had won 17 in a row as the starter.