New York Giants headlines for Friday

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Xavier McKinney hopes to play Sunday

Safety Xavier McKinney, who practiced Thursday for the first time since surgery to repair the fingers on his left hand after his bye week accident in Cabo, wants to play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I want to get back big time,” McKinney said. “The coaches know that, and the trainers know that. They know that I really want to get back and I’m kind of running out of patience here.”

McKinney has missed seven games.

McKinney wore a splint at Thursday’s practice, and will have to wear it if and when he plays.

“It’s going to be different, but I consider myself an athlete, just like a lot of these guys in here, so we’re able to adjust,” McKinney said. “I’ll be able to adjust and figure out what works, what doesn’t work and what I can do to get around to be able to still, like I have all my hand still, in use of all my fingers. I’ll figure it out and we’ll go from there.”

‘Blood in the water’: Giants’ DC Wink Martindale will bring the heat to Colts’ QB Nick Foles

So, what did Martindale think when he watched the tape of the Indianapolis Colts giving up seven sacks Monday night in a 20-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers? He thought exactly what you might suspect:

“There’s definitely blood in the water.”

Martindale will undoubtedly turn up the heat on Colts’ quarterback Nick Foles, who will be making his second start of the season on Sunday against the Giants.

From Big Blue View

• Giants’ Xavier McKinney returns to practice
• Giants’ OC Mike Kafka downplays big day passing vs. Minnesota Vikings
• Film analysis: How has Ben Bredeson performed since his return?
• Giants-Colts: Have Colts players already checked out as miserable season nears end?
• Giants claim G Wyatt Davis off waivers
• From Buffalo Rumblings: Why I’m not bashing the Bills over releasing Isaiah Hodgins
• NFL Week 17 picks, predictions: Will Giants handle their business against the Colts?

Other Giant observations

Giants’ Mark Glowinski knows pain of blowing playoff shot | New York Post

This warning comes directly from Mark Glowinski, the veteran offensive lineman who has started every game for the Giants this season at right guard. Take care of business this Sunday because if not, bad things can happen.

“Sometimes things slip between your fingers and you want them back,” Glowinski said Wednesday after practice. Whatever we can do to make sure we’re maximizing every moment, every play to put ourselves in this situation. “I think it’s more of us not taking anybody lightly, making sure you’re in the moment, making sure you’re executing your plays, making sure it goes back down to fundamentals and technique, making sure you want it more.”

Giants captains send letter to fans ahead of Colts game: ‘Be loud’

How ex-Jet Jason Pinnock became ‘diamond’ for Giants | NJ.com

In a Giants season full of unexpectedly pleasant surprises — and unlikely outcomes — Pinnock’s current, valuable presence on Wink Martindale’s defense ranks high. But this never felt unlikely to Pinnock, even if it required a zero-to-60 midseason adjustment for him, with increased playing time — and then a starting job, after Martindale benched rookie Dane Belton.

“It wasn’t zero to 60 for me,” Pinnock said. “I was already going 60. It’s just that I moved into the lane. It never fazed me. I’ve always been a diamond in the rough. A diamond is still a diamond. It’s just buried.”

Landon Collins eyes another playoff chance with Giants | Giants.com

Collins was a first-team All-Pro six years ago when the Giants finished 11-5 and clinched a wild card berth when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were defeated on Christmas Eve, two days after the Giants lost a Thursday night game in Philadelphia.

"Oh man, it was a dream come true," Collins said. "It was hard work. It was a great family at that time just like it is now. And we all played for one another. That's what I remember the most: We all played for one another. We wanted it bad. And it was just a great opportunity to be out there and try to bring that game to the wire. So, it was good."

Daniel Jones' poise adds excitement to possible NFC Wild Card game | New York Daily News

Despite the neck issue, DL Leonard Williams intends to push through as best he can. The injury itself won’t heal until the offseason. Williams, who has exited multiple games in severe pain recently, said that he is dealing with something in his trap/neck area. Even shooting it with a painkiller wouldn’t completely prevent it from cropping up in games. The ironman D-lineman said it’s something that isn’t going to be able to heal until the offseason. “Just trying to play through it,” he said.

Daniel Jones: Inside his maturation and development as NY Giants QB | The Record

The Giants have a quarterback whose arrow is pointing up, which says a lot for what Jones has been able to do in a season where so much was seemingly stacked against him.

“I think I’ve improved. I feel like I’ve improved game to game, year to year,” Jones said. “You put a lot of work into it, you put a lot of effort into it. That’s the goal, you expect to improve, and I still have a lot of work to do, a lot of things I can get better at. The focus is on that every week. That’s the [mindset] for this game, too. I know what’s at stake. We all do. But we’re only gonna get to where we wanna go if we have that approach.”

Joe Benigno: Daniel Jones worthy of some MVP consideration | WFAN.com

“Brian Daboll’s gotta be Coach of the Year, and Daniel Jones, I know he’s not gonna win the MVP, I get it, but he has to get some consideration for it with the year he’s had,” Joe said. “You tell me a quarterback that has done more with less than Daniel Jones.”

Giants’ Tyrod Taylor impressed by how Daniel Jones has delivered in ‘those got-to-have-it moments’ | NJ.com

“He has done a great job week in and week out of doing what every team needs from that position,” backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor said after practice Wednesday. “He has been a great leader and someone who goes out and wins games by commanding guys on the field and running the show. Obviously the job is not finished. We’re going to need him to continue leading us and putting us in a position to go out and score points.”

“I think he has made plays in critical situations,” Taylor added. “In those got-to-have-it moments, he has gone out and performed at a high level.”

Giants OC explaining the reason for the effectiveness of Saquon Barkley at the end of the game

Predicting final 2022 NFL playoff picture - Scores for Weeks 17, 18 | ESPN.com

We used the ESPN Football Power Index’s most likely simulation to project Weeks 17 and 18 — complete with game scores — to predict how the NFL playoff field will stack up.

The are projected to make the playoffs with a 34-0 win over the Colts and finish with a 9-7-1 record overall. New York would be the sixth seed in the NFC, facing off against the Minnesota Vikings in the first round.

Giants’ path to the playoffs: New York can clinch berth in Week 17, but who else is lurking? | The Athletic

After giving up the largest comeback in NFL history to the Vikings in Week 15, the Colts are coming off another embarrassing performance. They didn’t convert a single third down in their 20-3 loss to the Chargers on “Monday Night Football.” Indianapolis turned to quarterback Nick Foles in the loss and is sticking with him this weekend in New York despite Monday’s abysmal showing, which included three interceptions and seven sacks. The team is, quite simply, in total disarray. The Giants couldn’t have asked for a better matchup with the playoffs on the line.

This week’s opponent

Practice Notebook: What Colts Left Tackle Bernhard Raimann Has Learned From Facing Veteran Pass Rushers As A Rookie | Colts.com

Raimann said he's felt more comfortable and consistent with his play over the second half of the 2022 season, and interim head coach Jeff Saturday said he's been pleased with Raimann's progress, too.

"If you look at the way Bernie's played, he has gotten better each and every week," Saturday said. "He's faced some significant pass-rushers. He's getting better with his technique. It's not perfect, he understands that. He continues to pursue perfection, he hasn't met it but he's doing much better with his hands placement, he's doing much better with his set, getting out and getting himself established and taking on bull-rushers or power-rushers, however you want to look at it. He's very athletic, so he does well with the athletic-type rushers.

Colts C Ryan Kelly reflects on revolving door at QB | NFL.com

Because Foles spent nearly the entirety of the 2022 season as Indianapolis' third-string quarterback, Kelly hadn't even taken a snap with Foles prior to his Week 16 start, a realization Kelly described as "crazy." Kelly commended Foles for handling the duties well "under tough circumstances."

“It’s tough when it’s different year-to-year. Certainly when you go different week-to-week, it’s even tougher,” Kelly said. “I think every single guy knows the situation that we're in. You have two games left and you're not guaranteed anything in this league. This team has two games together left. After that, it will never look the same."

Around the league

Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts practices for first time since going down | ESPN.com

Hurts participated in individual drills during the portion on practice open to the media, throwing a number of short and intermediate passes with decent velocity.

"We'll continue to see how he progresses throughout the week. Does he have a chance? Of course he does, because his body just knows how to heal. He's a freak," coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday. "We'll see what happens as the week progresses."

Raiders WR Davante Adams on Derek Carr benching | NFL.com

"Obviously, I don't think, anybody was excited about it in here," Adams said. "Him being one of my really good friends and the reason I came here in the first place. I mean, I wouldn't be here right now if he wasn't here. I think everyone knows how I feel about him and you know, with that said, there's a process of how things go and I'm not going to sit here and go on and on but obviously, I support my guy, you know."

Chargers star pass rusher activated from injured reserve, back at practice | CBSSports.com

Fresh off clinching a spot in the NFL playoffs, the Los Angeles Chargers are getting healthy at just the right time. On Thursday, the club designated star pass rusher Joey Bosa to return from injured reserve, opening up his 21-day practice window. He'll be able to participate in practice with the team for up to three weeks without counting against the active roster, but can also now be activated at any point. Bosa will return to practice Thursday, the team confirmed.

Push for full-time officials is gaining traction | ProFootballTalk

That doesn’t mean it will happen, or that it will be as clear and clean as all officials immediately devoting full professional efforts to officiating. The league may allow (for example) the officials who currently moonlight to continue to do so, with new officials being required to take full-time jobs with no other professional responsibilities.

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