New York Giants 2022 NFL futures odds: Big Blue still underdog to make playoffs, Saquon Barkley massive favorite for Comeback Player of Year

How much can hiring the right head coach matter? The New York Giants were a 4-13 laughingstock in 2021 under Joe Judge -- remember when Judge called a quarterback sneak with the Giants facing third-and-9 from their own 4 against Washington? The Giants appear to have hit a home run by hiring former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to replace Judge this offseason. Big Blue is one of the NFL's big surprises at 4-1. However, the Giants still are +105 underdogs at DraftKings to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They're -130 to miss the postseason again. This the Giants' best start since a 5-0 effort in 2009.

Have the Giants perhaps been a bit fortunate thus far? Possibly, as three of their four wins came by margins of five points or fewer, and victories over the likes of Tennessee, Carolina and Chicago aren't all that impressive. Rallying from a 10-point deficit at halftime in London on Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, on the other hand, was definitely impressive. The Giants scored 17 unanswered points in the second half as quarterback Daniel Jones, playing on a sprained ankle, led three scoring drives to claim the victory. 

New York played Sunday without top receivers Kadarius Toney (hamstring), Kenny Golladay (knee), Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) and Sterling Shepard (knee). The team's wideouts vs. Green Bay were the underwhelming Marcus Johnson, Darius Slayton, David Sills V and Richie James. New York was a 9-point underdog, marking the result as the biggest upset win in the NFL in 2022.

Daboll has pushed all the right buttons and is a +600 second favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year behind Nick Sirianni (+150) of the unbeaten Eagles.

"He lets us be ourselves and everybody is unique," kicker Graham Gano said of Daboll. "Everybody plays the game for different reasons and has the things that they like to do. And he lets us have fun. And as long as we're doing our job and playing and working to get better, he's going to let us play."

Running back Saquon Barkley looks as good as he did in 2018 when the No. 2 overall pick was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He is second in the NFL in rushing with 533 yards and averaging a stellar 5.5 yards per carry, which would easily be a career high (Barkley averaged 3.7 YPC in 2021). Barkley also has caught 18 passes for 143 yards and is the clear-cut -225 favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year with no one else listed below +1000. No Giants player has won that.

New York is an opening 5-point underdog this Sunday at home against Baltimore. The schedule gets much easier for a while thereafter as Big Blue visits Jacksonville in Week 7 and Seattle in Week 8, has a bye, and then hosts Houston in Week 10 and Detroit in Week 11. The team's new over/under season win total is 8.5 with the Over a -150 favorite.

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