Keidel: With Each Passing Week, Giants Become More Legitimate

By Jason Keidel
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Whenever someone plays -- and, naturally, beats -- the Cleveland Browns, we're tested with that timeless NFL oxymoron.

Ugly win.

But the New York Giants don't care about such designations. Just as there are no ugly wins in the NFL, there is no reason to justify six straight wins. Nor is there any reason to defend an 8-3 mark, which has the Giants still within sniffing distance of the Dallas Cowboys (10-1), who have somehow earned the twin handles as America's Team and America's Darlings.

While the win at Cleveland feels like fait accompli, the win was more significant than your garden-variety victory in November against the league's most forlorn franchise. With eight wins the Giants are assured of something they could not assert since 2012 -- a non-losing season.

Yes, the G-Men, a flagship NFL franchise, has not had a winning record since they went 9-7 four years ago. And unless they suffer a galling collapse in December, the Giants will keep their nostrils above .500 waters.

For weeks we've heard the Giants are paper contenders, that they've built their record on the backs of stiffs, the football iteration of boxing's Bum of the Month club. Among their fallen foes are the Rams, Bengals, Bears, and Browns.

But if it's so easy to win six straight, why doesn't everyone do it? Only Dallas and Miami have streaks at least as long as Big Blue's. There's something nice -- if not special -- happening with Big Blue. Call it a composite of good play and soft schedule if you like. But that feels a bit myopic.

And if you want the Giants to further cement their mettle, you're about to get it, as their schedule gets considerably more turbulent. Over their final five games, the Giants only play a slate of playoff contenders, starting next week, on the road, at Pittsburgh, where the Steelers seem to have regained their mojo.

Then the Giants play three of their final four against wildly familiar foes, beginning with a home game against the suddenly Herculean Cowboys. Then they square-off against the Lions, before finishing the season with crucial road games against the Eagles and Redskins.

If the Giants can squeeze three wins out of their final games, they're looking at a 10-6 finish, an inverted version of their 2015 campaign. It was a season that the Mara family found too toxic to remain mute, leading them to let iconic Tom Coughlin walk.

Their worldwide search for a new head coach led them to the office down the hall, where they hired Ben McAdoo, whom those of us a certain vintage still occasionally call Bob McAdoo.

McAdoo doesn't have Coughlin's military ethic or Rex Ryan's hubris. He doesn't have the classic, hardened cadence or contours of an old-school coach. But he's winning, sans style points. And that's what Giants fans want.

The main beef with the Giants last year wasn't the dearth of decent players but rather their inability to win the games they should. Isn't that exactly what's happening now?

The Giants are winning with offense, on Eli Manning's rubber arm, on Odell Beckham's immeasurable talent. And they're winning on defense, where they have unearthed a gem in Landon Collins and have enjoyed a rejuvenated Jason Pierre-Paul.

It's way too early to brand this season magical, but there's clearly an chemistry that has eluded the Giants for years. And to quote the franchise coaching patriarch, "you are what your record says you are."

Indeed, if wins and losses are the main criterion, Big Blue is having a big year.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel