The difference between 1-0 and 0-1 is enormous for the Giants.
When Sunday’s event at MetLife Stadium is over, they’ll be there to win — and oh! And they’ll be advised not to be just one.
It’s not as if the season would be a washout if the Giants started the 2024 season with a loss.
A Week 1 loss won’t be devastating, but it could be damaging in this regard: There’s so much negativity hanging over them from the outside, so little respect for their roster and talent base, so much disdain for returning quarterback Daniel Jones, and so little faith in what general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have built.
There is a lot of speculation that this is one of the worst teams in the NFL, and all of this will be made worse if the opening game is a bust.
Given all of this prejudice against the Giants, it’s worth considering how much gloomier the skeptics will become when the Vikings – who are without Sam Darnold as quarterback for the Jets and Panthers – come to the Meadowlands and put the home team under pressure.
There are always reasons for optimism, even if those reasons must come from within and be based on hope rather than evidence.
The Giants have an outstanding rookie wide receiver in Malik Nabers and a proven new edge rusher in Brian Burns.
They have Daboll as a playmaker on offense for the first time and he is one of the best in the league at taking on that responsibility.
There is an explosion in the passing game and the threat of a disruption on defense with Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeau in top form and ready to go.
This franchise is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and there are plenty of festivities planned early and often for this season, starting with the wildly retro uniforms (red is the dominant color and there are stripes galore and—hear and behold—khakis) the Giants wore in the season opener.
The script does not contain a big, bold “L” at the beginning.
“We’re certainly aware of it and we’ve talked about it,” Jones said. “I think the most important thing is understanding how rich the tradition of this organization is and the history behind playing for the New York Giants and what that means and what this franchise means to the NFL. It’s something special to be a part of and we as players have a lot of respect for that.”
Jones is entering his sixth season with the Giants and is facing a hot shower that could get even hotter if he performs poorly from the start.
The Giants made no secret of their desire to replace him and wanted to move up in the draft to sign their franchise quarterback.
When that dream didn’t come true, they used their first-round pick to give their embattled starter a valuable weapon, and then followed it up by retiring a jersey (No. 1, previously worn by Ray Flaherty in 1935) to gift to Nabers – quite a legacy for a 21-year-old to live up to.
The Giants have important evidence that Game 1 can make or break a mood.
In Daboll’s debut as head coach, the Giants came back to win the 2022 opener at Tennessee 21-20, with Daboll bravely going for a 2-point conversion at the end for the win.
There was also more than a touch of much-needed luck involved, as the Titans missed a field goal as time expired, catapulting the Giants to six wins in their first seven games.
Last season, the Giants lost 40-0 at home to the Cowboys and then lost eight of their first ten games.
“I’ve been doing this for 24 years, my 24th opening game,” Daboll said. “Every year is different. We’ve played Thursday nights, Sundays at 1 p.m. It really doesn’t matter what you did the year before or two years ago, whatever it is. What matters is doing everything you can do this week to prepare for a football game. That’s what we all are, that’s what we all will do.”
