The New York Giants enjoyed a nearly week-long break from what has been a physically and mentally demanding, yet rewarding (so far) season, and they return to work on Monday with what should be a relatively light practice.

Ahead of them are two key division games: one on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, whom Big Blue hasn’t beaten since 2013, and then a quick turnaround at home against the Washington Commanders, who beat the Eagles on Sunday.

The Giants? Since 2008, John Harbaugh’s first season as a head coach (then with Baltimore), they are 11-7 coming out of a bye, which ties them for eighth in the league over that span.

Harbaugh holds a 15-3 record after the bye, tied with Pittsburgh for the best post-bye record.

And if you want yet another reason to be optimistic, consider that Harbaugh’s Ravens teams, after coming back fully rested from the bye, have outscored opponents by 181 points, the largest margin in the league over that period.

While history paints a rosy outlook for the Giants in 2026 under Harbaugh, there is still a matter of getting through the week and preparing for a wounded Eagles team at a place where some funky things have befallen the Giants in recent years (the most recent being the devastating season-ending ankle injury suffered by running back Cam Skattebo).

That said, here are some of the key storylines still to unfold.

A Tough Two-Game Stretch

Say what you will about the quality of the NFC East, but Harbaugh and the players are not taking these next two pivotal games against the Eagles on Sunday and the Commanders on the ensuing Thursday lightly.

Nor should they. Division games carry extra weight because of tiebreakers. The Giants not only have a chance to put further distance between themselves and the Eagles (motivation in itself), but they’ll also need to come out on top against the Commanders to win the head-to-head tiebreaker after tying them in the first meeting.

There’s another reason these two games are paramount for the Giants. After the Commanders game, New York faces a murderers’ row of opponents, starting in Week 11 with a home game against the Jaguars, followed by a reprieve against a struggling Colts team, and then games against the 49ers, Seahawks, Browns and Lions, all teams with winning records who are jockeying for a postseason berth.

How the Giants come out of their two division games starting this weekend will tell a lot about whether they’re for real or have benefited from playing lesser opponents.

Trade Winds

Will they or won’t they? Harbaugh has shown he’s not afraid to keep churning the roster, and with the team having an opportunity to win its first division title since 2011, don’t expect Harbaugh and the Giants to let the grass grow under their feet now.

The question, though, is whether the team will be buyers, sellers, or both. We think it will be both; we proposed trading center John Michael Schmitz to the Packers for a draft pick. But if anything, the Giants are more likely to be buyers.

If so, will it be Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, or will the Giants look to add depth to their defensive line?

If they do make a move, will it be of the blockbuster type, such as what the Colts reportedly want for Taylor, or will the Giants play it a bit more conservatively with another running back option like Tony Pollard of the Titans, or a defensive tackle like Dalvin Tomlinson of the Chargers, Zach Sieler of the Dolphins, or A’Shawn Robinson of the Panthers?

The trade deadline is November 10, so the next eight days should be very interesting to follow.

Is J.J. McCarthy for Real?

So far, the Giants and quarterback J.J. McCarthy look like a match made in heaven, so much so that some members of Skol Nation have expressed regret over Minnesota’s decision to send McCarthy packing.

With good reason. In Weeks 6 and 7 (we don’t count Week 8 since the Giants had a bye), McCarthy had a respectable 63.3% pass completion rate, 14th among 26 quarterbacks with at least 40 dropbacks over that span.

His 495 passing yards rank eighth among that same group, and he’s averaging 10.1 yards per attempt, which is first.

Granted, it’s a small sample size, but it’s also encouraging moving forward, starting against the Eagles, whose pass defense has allowed 235.4 yards per game, 24th in the league.

Injury Updates

When we last left the Giants, they had several players looking to heal up nagging injuries.

The most significant is left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has been laboring through a painful groin injury. The Giants will likely continue managing his workload the rest of the season, but if the time off helped enough that Thomas doesn’t look like he’s moving in slow motion after every snap, that’s a plus for the Giants.

The time off also hopefully helped right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor’s ailing calf. Eluemunor was questionable for the Week 7 game at Houston, but he pushed through after missing the previous week with the same injury.

And let’s not forget punter Jordan Stout, who pushed through a right knee injury in Week 7. Stout, our pick for special teams MVP through the first half of the season, posted his lowest net yard average (38.5) in Week 7 and saw his gross punting yard average fall below 50 after two straight weeks well above that mark.

Others expected back this week include starting cornerback Greg Newsome II, who missed Week 7 with a concussion, tight end Theo Johnson (neck), and safety Tyler Nubin (neck).