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
‘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.

