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USATSI

The New York Giants have been the surprise of the 2022 season, having one of the best records in the NFL through seven weeks. A franchise that had fallen on hard times in the past decade, the Giants are now 6-1 to start the year and are one of only two teams in the league to have six wins (their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles are the other). 

New York already has more wins in 2022 than it had all of last year (four), equaling the most wins in any season for the franchise out of the past six (the Giants won six games in 2020). The Giants are on a four-game winning steak -- matching their 2021 win total.

Despite a 22-59 record over the last five years (tied with the New York Jets for the worst in the NFL), the Giants have turned a corner under Brian Daboll. They've accomplished a 6-1 start despite a limited passing game, a struggling offensive line, injuries at cornerback, and with linebacker Azeez Ojulari out for the majority of the year. 

How improbable is the Giants' 6-1 start? These numbers will blow your mind.   

Daniel Jones game-winning drives

Jones has five game-winning drives through seven games this season, the most by any player through seven games since 1950. No other player in the league has more than three game-winning drives in 2022. 

Game-winning drives are defined as offensive scoring drives in the fourth quarter or overtime that puts the team ahead for the last time. Jones has accomplished the task in awkward ways at times (he had only one pass attempt in the fourth quarter Sunday), but he's not turning the football over frequently either. 

Jones is on pace for 12 game-winning drives this season, which would shatter the single-season record of eight by Matthew Stafford in 2016. 

Daniel Jones fourth quarter passer rating 

What's even more incredible about Jones' game-winning drives are his fourth quarter stats. Jones ranks 28th in passer rating in the fourth quarter of one-score games this year (58.4), completing 20 of 33 passes for 166 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Jones is above Davis Mills (29th), Jimmy Garoppolo (30th), Trevor Lawrence (31st), and Marcus Mariota (32nd) for fourth quarter passer rating in one-score games. 

Jones is only completing 63.5% of his passes in the fourth quarter, throwing for 250 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for a (75.0 rating) while only rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown (3.8 yards per carry). He has yet to throw a pass when leading or tied with four minutes remaining in the game. 

Fourth quarter comeback victories

The Giants are 4-1 this season in games in which they've trailed in the fourth quarter. They were 3-58 in those games over the previous five seasons.

New York is 4-1 when it trails in the fourth quarter this season, as the .800 win percentage is the best in the NFL. The Vikings have the next best mark at 3-1 (.750 win percentage). 

Points allowed

The Giants are one of two teams that has not allowed 24 points in a game this season, the other being the Bills. New York is sixth in the NFL in points allowed per game (18.6) despite being 31st in the league in interceptions (three) and allowing 5.7 yards per attempt (32nd in NFL). 

Leading receiver 

Want to take a guess who leads the Giants in receiving yards? That would be Richie James, who has 20 catches for 191 yards and no touchdowns on the year (9.6 yards per catch). Saquon Barkley is second in receiving yards with 180 and Darius Slayton is third with 166. 

Tyreek Hill had 190 receiving yards in a game this season and Justin Jefferson had 184. That's more than the No. 2 and No. 3 leading pass catchers on the Giants and Hill's total is just one off James' season mark. 

Giants wide receivers have combined for three touchdowns on the year and none of them have more than one each. Zach Wilson -- the Jets' quarterback -- has as many receiving touchdowns as the Giants leading receivers. River Cracraft has more receiving touchdowns (two) than the Giants  leading receivers.

The Giants are the 13th team since 1970 -- and first since the 1981 Saints -- to not have a 200-yard receiver through seven games. They are the only team to start 6-1 or better through seven games since the merger without a 200-yard receiver. 

Margin of victory 

Each of the Giants' six wins have been by eight points or fewer, five of which featured a second-half comeback and four of which featured a fourth-quarter comeback. The Giants are the third team in NFL history to win six games, each by a final score of eight points or less within their first seven games of a season -- joining the 2000 Vikings and 1988 Saints

The Giants are the third team in NFL history to win at least five games when trailing in the second half through their first seven games of a season, joining the 2015 Falcons and 2007 Titans. They are the first team since the 2016 Lions to win at least four games when trailing in the fourth quarter through their first seven games of a season.

The 1988 Saints and 2015 Falcons failed to make the playoffs. The 2000 Vikings made the NFC Championship Game and the 2016 Lions lost in the wild card round of the playoffs.