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Giants using their underdog ‘humbling’ as fuel for pivotal Commanders clash

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Cite

Dunleavy, R. (2026, October 7). Giants using their underdog ‘humbling’ as fuel for pivotal Commanders clash. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/06/sports/giants-using-their-underdog-humbling-as-fuel-for-pivotal-commanders-clash/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-07 · by Ryan Dunleavy

Quick Summary

The New York Giants are maintaining an underdog mindset despite their 3-1 start to the season, ahead of their upcoming game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Cornerback Greg Newsome II emphasized that being underdogs fuels their motivation and helps them stay humble. The team is aware they face skepticism from outsiders but remain focused on proving their capabilities through performance rather than changing public perception.
Written by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

New York Giants face Washington Commanders in an important NFL matchup where the Giants are slight underdogs despite their surprising 3-1 start. Running back Cam Skattebo expressed frustration over being perceived as underdogs, but the team is using this skepticism as motivation. Cornerback Greg Newsome II emphasized that facing doubt every week keeps them grounded and focused. The Giants' recent wins against the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals have not changed public opinion regarding their legitimacy as a contender. With winning records, the Giants are among several teams listed as underdogs for upcoming games this week, including the Browns, Raiders, and Lamar Jackson-less Ravens. The team is embracing their underdog status to fuel their performance in what could be a pivotal game against the Commanders.

Written for “NFL Football Season” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NFL Football Season
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different times and contexts related to the Giants' season, with Article A focusing on a recent win over the Cardinals and potential optimism for Deonte Banks, while Article B discusses the team's underdog status ahead of an upcoming game against the Commanders.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Giants' team dynamics and outlook without referencing the same specific game or incident.”
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses the Giants' mindset as underdogs leading up to a game against the Commanders, while Article B reports on the actual outcome of that game, which ended in a tie.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Giants' season and mindset, not a single specific game or incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 6 of 61 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Giants' season and do not describe the same specific game or incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the team's mindset before an upcoming game, while Article B reports on the actual result of a previous game between the Giants and Commanders.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles refer to different aspects of the upcoming game between the Giants and the Commanders, with Article A focusing on the team's mindset and underdog status while Article B discusses a promotional offer for DFS players.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the mindset of the Giants before a game against the Commanders, while Article B describes the actual game played on Sunday where the teams tied.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Giants' situation and mindset, not a single specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16258 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ryan Dunleavy
72 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I got hit on one of the touchdowns and didn’t know that Jalen [Nailor] scored, but I could hear our Raiders fans,” Cousins added.
🔮 Under different circumstances, the career-best performances by Braelon Allen and Adonai Mitchell could be celebrated as the Jets developing playmakers to complement Garrett Wilson.
🔮 Tanking would make sense — if the Colts hadn’t previously traded their first-round pick to the Jets.
🔮 If John Harbaugh were picking between two Michigan-bred quarterbacks this week, the Giants would start J.J. McCarthy over Tom Brady.
🔮 Edmunds will go from logging every defensive snap in the first six games to missing every snap in the final 11, The Post confirmed, after he was injured late in last week’s game against the Saints.
🔮 Maybe it’s time for the NFL to change its logo to include a player’s hand punching at the football that sits atop the shield.
🔮 “Maybe now 20 percent of that 30 that was gone is back,” Nagy said before Thursday’s practice.
🔮 McCarthy’s last pass — on fourth-and-1 from the 14-yard line with 12 seconds remaining — fell incomplete or else the Giants would’ve had a chance to win the game or send it to overtime despite trailing 34-10 when the quarterback change was made with 11:36 to go.
🔮 tRY IT NOW“I would love for us to be in that kind of a circumstance,” Harbaugh said.
🔮 If J.J. McCarthy was guaranteed to throw for 943 yards, rush for 104 yards and lead 12 scoring drives in his next start, then the Giants wouldn’t have a quarterback controversy on their hands.
Also by Ryan Dunleavy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 72 articles by Ryan Dunleavy →

Topics

Cardinals Commanders Giants Sports+ Titans

Subjects

Giants ORG · 7× Newsome PERSON · 3× Cardinals ORG · 2× Harbaugh PERSON · 2× Skattebo PERSON · 2× Greg Newsome II PERSON · 1× John Harbaugh PERSON · 1× Paul Schwartz PERSON · 1× Sports+ ORG · 1× Underdog ORG · 1×

Narrative

Running back Cam Skattebo railed against the Giants being installed as home underdogs to the Cardinals, though teams without their franchise quarterback (Jaxson Dart) and Defensive Player of the Year candidate (Brian Burns) tend to be doubted.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 John Harbaugh might need to get his T-shirt designer on the phone again.

Claims (26 extracted, 2 hedged)

John Harbaugh might need to get his T-shirt designer on the phone again. uncertain
Harbaugh → need → phone
Maybe the same person who created the “1-0” shirts that were all the rage around the Giants last week can create a red shirt with a “U” across the front and a blue cape in time for all the players to dress up as “Underdog” for Halloween. asserted
players → create → Halloween
tRY IT NOW“We’re underdogs every week,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said after Tuesday’s meetings. asserted
II → try → meetings
“That’s enough humbling for us.” asserted
That → ’ → us
Off to a surprising 3-1 start, the Giants are aware that their back-to-back last-minute wins against the hapless Titans and Cardinals have not changed public skepticism about their legitimacy as a contender. asserted
wins → change → contender
And another win against the Commanders — who are favored by 2.5 points — Sunday might not alter many opinions, either. uncertain
Sunday → favor → opinions
The Giants, Browns (at Jets), Raiders (at Patriots) and Lamar Jackson-less Ravens (at Falcons) are the teams with winning records listed as underdogs this week. asserted
Giants → list → underdogs
The cynics “definitely” have the locker room’s attention, Newsome said. asserted
Newsome → have → attention
“You always want something to go into a game and just give you an extra motivating boost,” Newsome said. asserted
Newsome → want → boost
“We don’t really care what the outside world believes. asserted
world → care → what
We know what we have on this team. asserted
we → know → team
We know what we’re all about, so at the end of the day, no matter who we play, we just have to play to the best of our ability and try to find a way to go 1-0. asserted
we → know → way
NFL players are prohibited from wagering on the league. asserted
players → prohibit → league
It doesn’t mean they are blind to the point spreads or the score predictions made on pregame shows. asserted
they → mean → shows
Running back Cam Skattebo railed against the Giants being installed as home underdogs to the Cardinals, though teams without their franchise quarterback (Jaxson Dart) and Defensive Player of the Year candidate (Brian Burns) tend to be doubted. asserted
teams → rail → Year
“It’s dumb to be underdogs at home,” Skattebo said after a 36-24 victory. asserted
Skattebo → ’ → victory
When people want to bet against you at your own place and you’ve got a team coming from a six-hour flight on a time change, it’s a pretty difficult feeling as a team when you feel like you are put underneath them. asserted
you → want → them
So we came out here and handled business.” asserted
we → come → business
The Giants hold sole possession of first place in the NFC East for the first time since Week 11 of the 2015 season. asserted
Giants → hold → season
Their 5-5 record at the time spiraled into a 6-10 finish. asserted
record → spiral → finish
“For sure you can play [as a first-place team] with an underdog mentality,” Newsome said. “[Because] 3-1 can easily turn into 3-14 if you’re not careful enough. asserted
you → play → 3
If you’re not humble, you will get humbled. asserted
you → ’re → ?
So we have to continue to have that mindset that we had in the beginning of the season, and we’re going to carry it the entire way.” asserted
we → have → it
If an “Us against the world” mentality is building, Harbaugh won’t stop it by downplaying the opportunity to continue surprising people in a wide-open division. asserted
Harbaugh → build → division
“We have a game this week — a very pivotal game, a very big game — in terms of the opportunity that it presents our football team now, where we’re at,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → have → where
“We have an opportunity to make headway on the season.” asserted
We → have → season
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