Many of their all-time greats were in attendance to celebrate the 100th season in franchise history, but the New York Giants embarrassed themselves on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
From top to bottom, the Giants looked like an undisciplined, unprepared team that wasn’t playing at an NFL level. For four quarters, they were easily handled by the Sam Darnold-led Minnesota Vikings, who ultimately came away with a 28-6 victory that wasn’t even that close.
Whose stocks rose and whose stocks fell after the Week 1 embarrassment? Let’s take a look.
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Despite his postgame comments, nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was dominant again on Sunday. Although the Giants limited his role for reasons still unknown, Lawrence was a nuisance up the middle, breaking down the pocket and causing problems for the Vikings. He finished the game with eight pressures, one sack, one tackle for loss and one defended pass that ended in an interception.
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The focus this week will be on quarterback Daniel Jones, and we’ll have more on that in a moment. But perhaps no one should take a greater share of the blame than head coach Brian Daboll. His personnel decisions before and during the game were baffling, his plays were predictable and awful, and he was completely outdone by the man (Brian Flores) he stole the coaching job from – and who is currently suing the organization. An absolute disgrace.
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Rookie linebacker Darius Muasau started in place of Micah McFadden (who had zero snaps) and played relatively well, responding with six tackles (four solo, one for loss), a pass defensed and an interception. It wasn’t a flawless performance, but it was a solid one, aside from the INT celebration that blew the team out of the water.
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The Giants certainly didn’t do Daniel Jones any favors on Sunday, but that excuse is no longer enough. Aside from the terrible plays, the multiple drops, and the offensive line issues, DJ looks like a shadow of his former self. Jones, who is a playoff prospect in 2022, is long gone, and he has declined rapidly since suffering a second serious neck injury early last season. It’s time for the Giants (Joe Schoen and Daboll) to seriously consider parting ways with Jones or risk going down with the ship.
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Rookie safety Tyler Nubin was also far from flawless, but had some solid moments in his regular season debut. He led the team with seven tackles (five solo) and played solid football for a secondary that was like Swiss cheese, especially early on. He’s a very physical player who doesn’t shy away from contact, and it’s easy to see why so many believe he has high potential.
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The Giants have invested heavily in the duo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, both in terms of draft assets and financially. In their tag-team debut, the two edge rushers combined for four tackles, one QB hit and one pressure. That’s all these two were able to put together in Week 1, despite often having one-on-one duels. Thibodeaux was even briefly benched in favor of Azeez Ojulari after taking a bone-crushing penalty on third down.
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Booing two minutes into the game? Okay. Leaving the stadium at halftime? Okay. Almost emptying the stadium in the third quarter? Okay. Complaining on social media? Okay.
Hanging around the players’ parking lot to film yourself taunting and jeering at Daniel Jones and demanding money from him? That’s what Philadelphia Eagles fans do. An absolute low point for fans of the Big Blue.
This performance was as embarrassing as the game on the field. Be better.
