In what appears to be a horror story that doesn’t seem to ever end, we saw another Week 1 disaster for the NY Giants to start the 2024 regular season. Against Minnesota, we saw them drop yet another Week 1 game to kick off another season, this one was a 28-6 loss at MetLife Stadium to the Vikings.
The people who truly thought the Giants could get out to a hot 2-0 start to the 2024 season were quickly backpedaling, as after Sunday’s performance, many are now wondering if the Giants are not only just a bad football team in 2024, but could be one of the worst teams in the entire league. Several media outlets power ranked the Giants at No. 31 of 32 teams in the league after the Week 1 debacle:
Week 2 power rankings. The deck has been reshuffled. pic.twitter.com/UaipjjxdZK
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 10, 2024
The Giants are starting to hit a lot of lows and now that they are considered one of the worst teams in the entire league, it’s hitting all-time embarrassment levels for a once-proud franchise that was a constant playoff and championship contender. The team that made the postseason and won a playoff game two short seasons ago doesn’t seem to exist.
So, before the Giants jump off into even further embarrassment as they approach Week 2 with an early NFC East showdown with their rivals in the Washington Commanders, here are four things that the Giants absolutely must correct and fix as they head down to our nation’s capital.
4. Get the pass-rush going
The Giants traded away two draft picks and gave a $150 million contract to get Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers in the offseason. Big things were expected of him. Yet, how did his debut go as a member of the Giants? Not really great - four total tackles and no sacks.
On the other side was Kayvon Thibodeaux, who had double-digit sacks a year ago. Many thought with the addition of Burns, he would continue his rise as a top pass-rusher. If he is, it’s going to have to wait until Week 2, as Thibodeaux didn’t have a single sack or tackle. In fact, the only sack the Giants had in Week 1 against Sam Darnold was from Dexter Lawrence, who was one of the few bright spots in the loss to Minnesota.
Considering the Giants offense doesn’t look like it will be competitive for the 2024 season, the defense needs to step its game up, especially with a possible 0-2 start staring them in the face. The last time these two teams met, the Giants had four sacks and six turnovers on Washington in a 31-19 victory. However, the difference this time will be a quarterback the Giants like, but couldn’t get in Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Daniels takes the reigns from Sam Howell, and it’ll be Dan Quinn and not Ron Rivera who is coaching him. Quinn’s defenses with the Dallas Cowboys have given the Giants fits in recent years, so it’s not exactly a layup game for the Giants despite the recent success. If the Giants want to have success, the pass-rush needs to get after Daniels, and especially have Burns and Thibodeaux be key contributors in the pressure and sack department.
Coming up next: the rushing attack needs to improve