The Miami Dolphins have been a pleasant surprise this year. At 5-3, they already have as many wins as they had in 2019.
Well, don’t be surprised if the New York Giants take a similar leap in 2021.
“The Giants are doing a lot of things that the Miami Dolphins did last year,” NFL analyst Phil Simms said on The DA Show. “They’re organized, they got the look, they’re close. They could be leading that division as easy as they are where they are. I think they’re really playing well. They just need some additions so when they have a chance to win the game that they got some players that win the game for them.”
The Giants (2-7) have lost five games by one score. Their last three losses – to the Cowboys, Eagles and Buccaneers – have come by a combined six points.
“They’re getting in position to win, but they’re not quite good enough yet to hold off other teams or hang on to a lead or score that last point or whatever,” Simms said. “The Giants have been impressive this year. It was rough, but Joe Judge looks like he’s got a great idea on how to build this team. It’s going to be interesting to see.”
While the Giants are still a work in progress, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are trying to work out some kinks of their own. After hanging on to beat the Giants in Week 8, they got blown out against the Saints in Week 9, losing 38-3.
“Maybe we overrated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Simms said. “They struggled against Chicago. They struggled the first time against New Orleans, the second time. If things don’t go the right way for them, then we see some of their trouble spots. They kind of got away from what they’re doing. They did not blitz Drew Brees hardly at all the whole night, and Tom Brady has been having success with play-action passes and stuff like that. I don’t know if we saw but a couple the whole night. They said, ‘We got these great wide receivers, we’re going to show them off,’ and it didn’t work. I think Tampa is going to do a little readjusting this week and probably go back to what they were doing where Tom Brady was having success earlier in the year.”
The Giants hsot the Eagles (3-4-1) this Sunday, while the Bucs play the Panthers (3-6) in Carolina. Both games kick off at 1 p.m. ET.