Giants vs. Washington Football Team: 6 storylines for Week 18

The 4-12 New York Giants host the 6-10 Washington Football Team in the final game of the 2021-22 regular season, and the final game before Washington has a permanent nickname. Here are a handful of storylines for the season finale.

Jake Fromm redemption tour

Fromm may or may not end up being a competent backup quarterback in the NFL. His first NFL start and second overall NFL appearance, which came Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles, was ugly. Fromm completed just 6 of 17 passes for 25 yards and an interception, and got replaced by Mike Glennon, the guy who’s incompetence led to Fromm starting in the first place, in the middle of the third quarter.

In his post-game press conference after that debacle, Fromm said this:

“I would says it’s not ideal. I wish I would have played better. It’s frustrating for myself. It’s not the way I wanted to have represented myself, my family, or, of course, this organization. It’s tough but I’m going to learn from it. I don’t think it gets much worse than that.”

With Glennon out due to a wrist injury that requires surgery, Fromm gets a chance to at least go into the offseason feeling better about his ability to play at the NFL level.

Will he take advantage of it?

Will anyone show up?

MetLife Stadium, where the game will be played, seats 82,500. During Monday’s podcast with Emily Iannaconi, I put the over/under for fans who would attend at 20,000. There is a 65 percent chance of rain or snow on Sunday in East Rutherford, and both teams are bad. How many people are going to want to sit through that?

Two in a row?

Saquon Barkley carried 21 times for 102 yards last Sunday against the Chicago Bears, the first 100-game he has had since 2019. Can Barkley do it again and end a difficult season that saw him miss time with another leg injury on a high note?

Swan songs?

Will this be Dave Gettleman’s final game as Giants GM? Joe Judge’s final game as head coach? The answers are almost certainly on the former, and still probably not on the latter. We will, however, find out for sure in just a few days.

Salary drive

Edge defender Lorenzo Carter, a free agent to be, has put together the best stretch of his four-year career the past three weeks. He has four sacks, five quarterback hits, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles. That’s the kind of dominant edge play the Giants have hoped for from Carter since making him a third-round pick in 2018.

Can he put together one more dominant performance? Will it be enough to convince the Giants to bring him back in 2022?

Will anyone actually win?

The Giants have lost five straight games and six of their last seven. Washington has lost four straight. Can one of these teams actually win the game? It somehow feels like justice would be served if this ended in a 0-0 tie.