Pat Shurmur: I think we’ve made a lot of progress

[Giant]

Getty Images

If the Giants lose to the Eagles on Sunday, they’ll end this season with a worse record than they had in 2018 and that’s usually not a sign that things are moving in the right direction.

That’s not a good thing for head coach Pat Shurmur, who has heard speculation about his future for several weeks and enters Week 17 with no assurances that he’ll be back for a third season with the team. On Thursday, Shurmur was asked if he thinks his team is closer to contending than they were at this time last year.

“We’ll find out next year,” Shurmur said, via SNY.tv. “But, I think we made a lot of progress in a lot of areas, and it’s hard to quantify when you don’t match it up with wins, I get that. We’ve probably played about as many young players as you can play, not because we’re playing young players, but because at this point they’re our best players. And so those guys are going to really benefit from the reps they get, as we structure and move forward. You got a rookie quarterback that’s made tremendous strides. That’s probably a question for next year, but I think as we continue to grow here and build, there’s a lot to be said for going out with a win.”

A win would leave the Giants with the same record they had in 2018 and Shurmur with a 10-22 record over two seasons with the team. We should find out soon whether Giants ownership shares Shurmur’s view that there’s progress that hasn’t shown up in the standings.