The New York Giants will open their 2023 regular season on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Giants are coming off a 2022 season in which they finished 9-7-1, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and picked up their first postseason win since Super Bowl XLVI.
Expectations are understandably high in the New York/New Jersey area but that doesn’t seem to be the case elsewhere. Most seem to have a relatively low opinion of the Giants and their chances this season.
As we enter Week 1, here’s a look at where the Giants place in a multitude of power rankings.
Nate Davis, USA TODAY: 22
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Sure feels like new TE Darren Waller, who’s missed 14 games over the past two seasons, holds an inordinately large key to the success of an offense that ranked 18th last year.
Barry Werner, List Wire: 15
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Barry Werner, List Wire:
Brian Daboll had a great first year with Big Blue. Those who think the Giants are going to take another step forward stand to be disappointed, though.
Jarrett Bailey, Touchdown Wire: 23
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Jarrett Bailey, Touchdown Wire:
Daniel Jones is a ham sandwich at quarterback. It’ll get you through some days, but eventually there will be a kid who brings two slices of cold pizza to lunch. Then, you’ll be staring sadly at your ham sandwich wishing you had pizza instead- that’s what the Giants will be in 2023. The ham sandwich got them through a relatively easy schedule in 2022, they won a lot of low-scoring games, and when they faced a real team they got stomped into the ground. They have a tougher schedule this season, and I think we’ll see them get exposed.
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network: 15
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Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network:
The Giants may not be as talented from top to bottom as some of the teams around them in the power rankings, but they have proven to be well coached. Additionally, they added some legitimate firepower that was lacking in 2022.
Still, they’ll be starting two rookies at cornerback in a Wink Martindale defense. That is a lot to ask of two very young players. Additionally, although this team is more talented than a season ago, their schedule is much more difficult. We can’t be surprised if they don’t repeat their nine-win season from a year ago.
Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: 16
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Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News:
The Giants were the last (N)FC wild-card team in a promising first season under Brian Daboll. The bonus was a successful playoff experience. Although the Giants are trying to improve Daniel Jones’ passing to match their overall running to get closer to the Eagles and Cowboys, they won’t shy away too much from a defensive-minded winning approach.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: 18
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Saquon Barkley accepted a one-year deal with a little bit of incentive money and reported to camp. That’s great for the Giants. It’s also worth wondering how Barkley (or Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jacobs or J.K. Dobbins) will react when their team wants them to carry it 25 or 30 times in a game. Just because Barkley is in camp doesn’t mean he’s thrilled, and he’s still hoping to get a long-term deal next offseason. It’s worth wondering about the mindset of any of the unhappy running backs.
Josh Schrock, NBC Sports: 18
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Love Brian Daboll, Mike Kafka, and Wink Martindale, but the Giants have a brutal road right out of the gate, and some of the 2022 playoff teams will regress. Here’s one of the better candidates.
