Some NY Giants fans had to check their calendar on Sunday night to see if it said 1995 on it. The Week 1 game on Sunday Night Football between the Giants and Dallas Cowboys resembled the infamous blowout that happened 28 years ago to start the season.
Except it was even worse. Instead of 35-0 like the final score showed in 1995, it was a 40-0 destruction of the Giants this time around. It was a game where everything that could have gone wrong for the Giants did. Turnovers, miscues, sacks, and a violent rainstorm that didn’t let up on MetLife Stadium - yup, it was all there.
It was a game that had a lot of Giants fans doing a complete 180 on how they viewed the season, which was once a feeling of hope that quickly turned to disgust and anger. A 40-0 game will do that to a fanbase that saw a lot of losing from 2017-2021. Giants fans thought the losing was done, but after that game, the fans feel like the season is going back to what we all saw before the change of the regime.
Before the Giants fans decide to give up on the 2023 season, here is why everyone should still have hope for the year and not give up so soon:
5. RB Saquon Barkley
If the Giants have any hope of winning games in 2023, they’re going to remember that they have one of the best running backs in the NFL on their team. During the Giants 40-0 loss against the Cowboys, it felt like Saquon Barkley became an afterthought in the game.
Barkley had 12 total carries in the loss for 51 yards. In the second half, Barkley had just one carry, which went for 18 yards. After that, nothing. For a player who had over 1,300 yards a season ago on the ground, the Giants sure forgot to use him in a game where the weather was terrible, the passing game wasn’t working well and the pass blocking wasn’t helping Daniel Jones.
Fortunately for the Giants, Barkley remains healthy and he's ready to continue to show the entire league why he’s still one of the best. On top of that, Barkley is also playing for his next contract still.
Having a solid outing against the Cardinals would be a good way to get over the stink of losing the way the Giants did, and putting the ball in the hands of Barkley as often as possible is a sure way of making good things happen.