Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll could be overseeing final game as Giants regime in Philly finale

Sunday could be Joe Schoen’s and Brian Daboll‘s final game as the Giants‘ GM and head coach.

Daboll did his best not to think about it as he prepared the Giants (3-13) to close out their season against the NFC East champion Eagles (13-3).

“Just focus on the things you can control,” the third-year coach said Friday. “Focus on coming out here and ending up the week on a good note and getting ready to play a game against Philly.”

But the time for Daboll to control his fate has passed. The same should go for Schoen, too. Visiting their division foe provides a good reminder of why:

The Giants have a 4-13-1 NFC East record under Schoen and Daboll since the start of the 2022 season, getting outscored 472-313 total in those 18 games. That comes out to an average score of 26.2 to 17.4 each time out.

The numbers are even more glaring in the Giants’ 12 meetings with the Eagles and Cowboys, their more consistently competent NFC East opponents:

Schoen and Daboll have a 1-11-0 record against the Eagles and Dallas while getting outscored a silly 366-188 — an average loss of 30.5 to 15.7 each game. That includes a 1-5 mark against the Eagles, getting outscored 179-100 in the series (29.8 to 16.6).

Sunday could be different, since Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is resting 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley and several other starters with the NFC’s No. 2 overall seed clinched.

So Barkley will not be going for the NFL’s all-time single-season rushing record against his former team — although Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson strangely said Friday that he was not relieved when he heard Barkley was sitting out.

“I really don’t care. I really don’t care. It’s no big deal to me,” said Patterson, whose Giants run defense allowed 176 Barkley rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in three quarters on Oct. 20. “We gotta worry about their five offensive linemen. Right? That’s what we gotta worry about. That’s our job… So it really didn’t matter who plays or who doesn’t play. We gotta defend whoever shows up out there on the field, and it was no big deal to me.”

The Eagles’ decision to sit so many starters might create a more even competition for the Giants. That also creates the possibility, however, that the Giants could further damage their position in April’s NFL Draft.

Last week’s win over the Indianapolis Colts dropped them from No. 1 to No. 4 in the order entering Week 18.

And if the Giants beat the Eagles on Sunday, they have a chance to fall as far as No. 9 overall in the final order when all is said and done.

The Patriots, Titans and Browns all sit ahead of the Giants at the moment with the same 3-13 record, while the Jaguars, Panthers, Jets, Raiders and Bears all sit 4-12 at picks No. 5 through No. 9 with an opportunity to move up the board depending on the results.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers said the Giants are “going to try our best every game that we go out there.”

“We expect to win every game,” he said. “So we’re going to go out there expecting to win every game. We’re going to carry that win over and try to get another one.”

There is no result that seemingly can save Daboll, though, and possibly Schoen, too. And at this point, that’s how it should be.

Because Schoen and Daboll have a 12-30-1 record in their last 43 regular season games following their 6-1 start to their inaugural 2022 year. That’s 13-31-1 in their last 45 including their 2022 playoff win in Minnesota and their blowout playoff loss in Philly the next round.

No self-respecting franchise can rationalize accepting that level of failure.

SCHOEN’S WOE-LINE

None of Schoen’s four offensive line draft picks are slated to play meaningful snaps in Sunday’s regular season finale, if at all.

Right tackle Evan Neal (rib/hip), Schoen’s No. 7 overall pick in 2022, and center John Michael Schmitz (ankle), his second-round pick, are out with injuries. Guard Marcus McKethan, a 2022 fifth-round pick, is no longer on the team.

And here was Daboll’s dismissive answer about 2022 third-round pick Josh Ezeudu’s chances of starting at right tackle on Sunday:

Question: “What do you do at right tackle?”

Daboll: “We have [Chris] Hubbard and [tackle] Tyre [Phillips].”

Question: “Why not Ezeudu there?”

Daboll: “Because we have Hubbard and Tyre to play there.”

Ezeudu started the season as the Giants’ swing tackle. Hubbard signed in the middle of the season, and Phillips signed late.

Linebacker Micah McFadden (neck), corner Greg Stroman (shin) and defensive lineman Armon Watts (knee, injured reserve) are also out.