The Giants open the season under the brightest lights, and the Big Blue View staff is split on whether that first test ends in celebration or frustration against the Cowboys on Sunday night.
Chris Pflum is taking New York, but he’s not pretending this one comes with much certainty. He called it a game loaded with unknowns on both sides, from what Dallas’ defense will look like to how the Giants’ offense and defense will look after all the roster and coaching turnover.
Pflum said he believed a year ago that the Giants had reached a point where the talent on the roster could keep them competitive most weeks, but that the coaching staff’s lack of accountability and attention to detail got in the way. This season, he sees a stronger roster thanks to the continued development of the 2024 and 2025 classes.
In his view, the difference Sunday could be preparation, and he’s trusting the Giants’ veteran coaching staff to have the team ready. His pick: Giants.
Tony DelGenio went the other direction and forecasted a Dallas win, while drawing a line back to Tom Coughlin’s first year. He recalled the Giants’ 2004 opener, when they jumped ahead of the Eagles 7-0 before Donovan McNabb’s three touchdown passes to Terrell Owens turned the game into a runaway.
DelGenio thinks something similar could happen here because he believes the Giants match up poorly with Dallas. He pointed to the Giants’ desire to establish the run, but said that will be difficult against Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark inside and Rashan Gary outside, with the middle of the offensive line still the weakest area until rookie Sisi Mauigoa proves himself.
He also expects pressure on Jaxson Dart from that same area. On the other side, DelGenio thinks Dennard Wilson’s defense should be better than Shane Bowen’s unit was, especially with the Cowboys missing Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith, and he doesn’t expect Dallas’ ground game to be as dangerous against a revamped Giants linebacker group.
But he’s worried about the secondary, especially with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens having already had success against the Giants’ defensive backs last year. He also said nobody really knows how Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome will hold up as starters, and noted that Dak Prescott has long had success against the Giants.
His forecast: Dallas.
James Hickey also picked the Giants, framing the matchup around a familiar blueprint: rush the passer on defense and lean on a physical offense with a quarterback who can make the necessary plays. He said the key on defense is whether Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux can get after Prescott against a banged-up Cowboys offensive line.
If Prescott has time, Hickey said, he’ll be able to work over a secondary that is starting Tae Banks in Week 1. Offensively, Hickey said the Giants need to control the clock with the run game, which puts John Michael Schmitz in the spotlight against Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, whom he called the best defensive tackle tandem in the NFL.
He also pointed to the Giants’ recent history in openers, noting that since 2016 the four Giants head coaches have split their first games, with Ben McAdoo and Brian Daboll winning and Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge losing. Hickey said John Harbaugh is different because he is not a first-time head coach and should have the team ready for the Sunday night stage.
He’s also waiting to see if Dennard Wilson brings the kind of aggressive defense that gets the best from the players and whether the offensive staff can help Jaxson Dart take the next step. Still, he believes the talent will show up.
Valentine’s View rounded out the optimism with a nod to experience and a little self-awareness. The long-time Giants observer said he should know better by now than to keep predicting wins before the team proves it can earn them, but admitted he still leans optimistic.
He looked back at the coaching changes under Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and Brian Daboll, saying each was trying to learn how to be a head coach and eventually showed they were not built for it. John Harbaugh, he said, is different because he has already done the job.
According to Valentine’s View, Harbaugh has raised the standard for everyone in the organization, from players to the front office to the maintenance staff putting together the temporary locker room quarters - and maybe even the media. He’s betting that the months of what he called Harbaugh University will pay off Sunday night.
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For the Giants, that makes the recent decision to move on from Darius Slayton look even more relevant than it did just days ago. Slayton is now a free agent option who could fit a Patriots team suddenly facing thinner depth at the position, and his availability adds another layer to a roster move New York already made. When injuries hit this early, a player with Slaytons experience can quickly go from expendable to a name worth monitoring. [Read more 🡒]
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Giants Enter John Harbaughs First Season With One Big Concern
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Gordon McGuinness pointed to the lines promise while making clear it still needs development, which is where rookie Francis Mauigoa enters the picture. If Mauigoa can help speed up the progress, the Giants could at least start to stabilize the offense under Harbaugh, but this is still a group expected to need more time than patience usually allows in New York. Until the protection settles in, everything else the new staff wants to build on offense will have to work around that uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]