For a century, the New York Giants have been heralded as a model NFL franchise. Top down, we’re told, this is how you run a team.

So, what happened? They’re on the verge of missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years. It appears the Giants will also finish with six or fewer wins for the fifth season in a row. All despite drafting a running back (Saquon Barkley) they expected to don a gold jacket one day, a quarterback (Daniel Jones) they expected to be the franchise guy for years to come and signing basically whoever they want in free agency.

Not good. Not good at all.

These last few weeks, Go Long has spent time talking to people in the know to piece an autopsy together.

I just wanted to drop a note here to subscribers to be on the lookout for this story next week. And for those on our free email list, this may be a swell time to upgrade right here, if you’d like:

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Thank you everyone for supporting this newsletter. Year 1 sure did fly by. Thrilled for everything ahead.

Miss one of our peeks behind the curtain before? Here are a handful of similar stories we’ve run…

• Inside Jerry’s World: A multi-part look at how the richest sports franchise in the world goes 25 years without a championship. It’s not pretty.

• The Fight for Erik Kramer’s Life: First, he was depressed. After a series of tragic events, Erik Kramer decided to take his own life. He pulled that trigger… miraculously survived… and things only got wilder.

• Inside the Chicago Bears’ quarterback desperation: The Bears were certain they’d land Russell Wilson. They did not but they sure kept swinging.

• Rising Tide: How Coastal Carolina built a national power.

• Long Reign: Three specific tipping points triggered a potential Kansas City Chiefs dynasty.

• The Packers have a plan (it’s genius, too): Why everyone ripping the team’s 2020 draft is wrong.

• Will the Vikings finally rise under Mike Zimmer?: It’s not looking that way, no. We get to know the real Vikings head coach.

• The Pressure is on Josh Allen: The quarterback the Bills’ owner wanted was Patrick Mahomes. Allen was the consolation prize. Our debut two-parter digs into it all.