To the surprise of, well, pretty much everyone, the New York Giants come in to Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season with sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Giants have had at least a share of first place since their season-opening win, and have managed to expand their lead while their division rivals have faded.
Even the Giants’ Week 5 tie served to extend their lead by half a game.
And yet, the Giants are still entering Week 6 as 1.5-point underdogs at home against the New Orleans Saints, per Fanduel. This marks the third time in three weeks that oddsmakers have held the Giants as underdogs against a team in last place, and the fifth time in six weeks that the Giants are underdogs.
But while Las Vegas and the national media in general don’t have much faith in the Giants, Giants’ fans themselves remain very confident in the direction of their team.
The 2026 season hasn’t been easy, with the team losing two of its most important players in QB Jaxson Dart and OLB Brian Burns. Even so, the Giants have managed to do what’s necessary to win, and have shown a level of resilience and execution in key situations that has been lacking in recent years.
So it’s not all that surprising that a full 95 percent of Giants fans are confident that the team is heading in the right direction.
Fan confidence took a big hit following the loss of Dart in the loss to the Rams, but it’s rebounded nicely and is holding steady at 95 percent, which is second only to San Francisco 49ers’ fan confidence (96 percent).
Right now the biggest questions facing the Giants are whether they can keep things rolling.
QB Jameis Winston has played like a Top-10 quarterback over the last two weeks, throwing for 576 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in soggy games against the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders. At the same time, WR Malik Nabers has had 17 catches for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns and TE Isaiah Likely has had 18 catches for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants have unleashed their athletic defenders with one of the NFL’s most aggressive blitz schemes. Over all, the Giants’ pass defense has been among the best in the NFL, forcing the fastest throws in the NFL, and is among the fastest to pressure in the NFL. The defense has been disruptive and opportunistic when their disruption causes mistakes.
All that said, Fan Confidence doesn’t ask how good the team is, it asks whether the team is moving in the right direction. And the Giants do still have plenty of room for improvement. They need to get their run defense to be more consistent and give up fewer explosive plays on the ground. Improving their gap integrity while continuing to disrupt behind the line of scrimmage will go a long way toward shoring up their run defense. Meanwhile, they also need to improve their own ground game. While running the ball has been one of John Harbaugh’s and Greg Roman’s calling cards, the Giants haven’t done it well. They need better execution from their front seven as well as less predictability from the play callers.
But the Giants can get there, and if the team ahs shown anything, it’s that they‘ve bought in to the coaching and aren’t willing to give up.