Skip to main content
New York Giants homepage
Advertising

Giants News | New York Giants – Giants.com

Cover 3

Presented by

Cover 3: Final thoughts heading into Week 1

COVER-3-BRIAN-DABOLL

The Giants.com crew members share their final thoughts before Week 1 begins.

John Schmeelk: As we sit here contemplating another season of Giants football, there is a lot to think about. Despite the fact this is the fourth year of the Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll era, things feel very new and different. The positivity from the fan base can be felt whenever you hear from them.

The obvious place to point is the quarterback room, where Russell Wilson has established himself as a captain and leader of this team as the starter. Jameis Winston provides veteran experience of his own, and while people like to focus on his sense of humor and leadership style, he is someone who is very serious about his preparation and holds his teammates accountable. Then there is Jaxson Dart, who gives hope for the future as he flashed his potential in the preseason and now develops behind the scenes.

We have written extensively over the years about how the situation around the quarterback has an outsized impact on how well the position performs and that has not changed. But quarterbacks can also raise the floor and elevate what's going on around them with their ability to think, make the right decisions and play fast. In addition to everything Wilson has brought off the field, now that needs to translate to production on the field.

No other position impacts how well a team plays more than the quarterback. The Giants have averaged 16.1 and 15.6 points per game the last two seasons, ranking 31st and 30th in the NFL. If the Giants want to win more games this year, that needs to jump closer to the equivalent of three touchdowns per game. They get there by making more explosive plays, which lead to points. Last year the Giants finished with 34 completions of 20+ yards, tied for fewest in the league. Wilson still throws an excellent deep ball and will not hesitate pushing the ball down the field to his playmakers like Malik Nabers. Getting that number to 50 would put the Giants near the middle of the league.

Of course, Wilson will need protection to do that. Other than turnovers, nothing can short-circuit a drive like taking a sack. The Giants have a veteran offensive line that is playing together for the second straight season and should be able to protect well enough to let the offense function, especially when Andrew Thomas is healthy.

Wilson has consistently avoided turnovers for most of his career. His interception rate has not been over 2.3 percent since his rookie year and has been 1.8 percent or lower in three of his last four seasons. More big plays and fewer turnovers (and sacks) would be a winning formula for the Giants.

The Giants play too tough of a schedule to afford to have the minus-8 turnover ratio they had last season. They are going to have to win close games against good teams, and they won't do that if they lose the turnover battle any given week. The Giants' 15 takeaways last year ranked as the fifth-fewest in the NFL and only the Browns had fewer than their five interceptions. If the pass rush can disrupt opposing quarterbacks after putting them in second- and third-and-long situations, a more veteran secondary should be able to make more plays on the ball.

It's also essential that the Giants start fast this season with two road division games against the Commanders and Cowboys. The Giants do not want to head back to their home opener in Week 3 staring at Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs at 0-2 overall and in the division. Their next two division games are also against the Eagles.

The Giants have a more talented roster, especially at the most important positions, than I have seen in a long time. They have the capability to be a much better team than they've been the past two seasons. Their path to victory each week will be much easier to find and not nearly as narrow as it has been. But they still need to play well, especially in the areas I just wrote about.

Protect the quarterback and the ball.

Make more big plays in the passing game, which means more points.

Take the ball away with more explosive defensive plays.

If the Giants can do those things, this could be a very fun season at MetLife Stadium.

View photos of the New York Giants' 2025 roster as it currently stands.

Dan Salomone: When you come off a season like 2024, you better have a plan. And the Giants clearly had one. Now the results, starting Sunday, will tell us if it worked or not.

One word kept popping up once players got back in the building this past April – "intentional."

From Russell Wilson's leadership style to Brian Daboll showing clips of Brian Burns' hustle plays in front of the entire team, starting starters in the preseason, holding two rounds of joint practices and laying out development plans for rookies, everything was done with intent. Everything was done by design. Everything was done to get the team ready to play, as Joe Schoen said, when September comes.

August was great, but September is here.

"The leadership, some of the veterans that we have, some of our own that have grown into leaders, I would say that's one of the bigger differences that I've felt throughout this offseason," Schoen said. "But it takes time to do that because sometimes, good players that are leaders cost a lot of money and maybe you don't have the financial resources and then you're a young team and trying to surround them with people that can teach them how to lead but maybe they're not starting, so it's hard for them to learn now but they've got leadership. I know it's a little complicated but we feel good about the leadership that we have now. Some of the pieces that we've added this offseason and some previous pieces that were here before and talentwise, we'll see. We've got to go and do it, like Dabs said. We like the roster, we like the chemistry, we like the leadership, now we've got to go out and do it on Sundays."

View every move made by the New York Giants during the 2025 cycle.

Matt Citak: Over the last few weeks, a lot of attention has been focused on the Giants' offense, and rightfully so. After struggling to put up points the last few seasons, the Giants scored 30 more points in three consecutive preseason games for the first time in franchise history. The offense was firing on all cylinders against the Bills, Jets and Patriots as the Giants went undefeated in the lead-up to the regular season, led by strong play from all of the team's quarterbacks. This standout performance on offense has been drawing all of the headlines in recent weeks and has somewhat led to the defense being overlooked with Week 1 right around the corner.

The Giants surrendered a total of 47 points in the preseason. That's an average of 15.7 points per game, which included two different outings where they held their opponent to 12 points or fewer. Coach Brian Daboll has spoken countless times over the last few years about the need to play complementary football in order to have team success. Well, we got a glimpse of that in the preseason, as the offense's ability to sustain long scoring drives helped lead to strong results on defense. And as good as the defense looked in the preseason, we have yet to see the unit unleash all of its top talent. Brian Burns is coming off a dominant training camp, Kayvon Thibodeaux is playing like a man on a mission, and Abdul Carter has shown plenty of flashes of why he was the third overall pick. Then there's Dexter Lawrence, who was kept on ice for most of August but is now ready to hit the ground running. The new complementary pieces, such as Chauncey Golston, Roy Robertson-Harris and Darius Alexander, look like great fits next to the starters up front and highlight the depth the defense now has in multiple spots.

Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden are the anchors in the middle of the defense. The two veteran linebackers could both make a big leap heading into Year 2 in Shane Bowen's defense. Then we have the secondary, which features a nice mix of veteran and young players. Paulson Adebo and Jevón Holland both provide a lot to the defense on the field, but their leadership with younger players like Dru Phillips, Deonte Banks, Cor'Dale Flott, Tyler Nubin and Dane Belton could prove to be even more valuable. This group could end up being a significant factor in just how good the defense can be this year. The pass rush is going to get after the quarterback early and often, which should put the secondary in a lot of positive situations. If Nubin and Phillips can both take another step in their respective developments, the defensive backfield will have the opportunity to surprise a lot of people this season.

While achieving defensive success in the preseason is certainly better than the alternative, the results that matter begin this coming Sunday in Washington. The defense will get a tough test right off the bat as they face the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in Jayden Daniels. The Giants lost the two matchups against the Commanders last year, but by a total of just eight points. A strong showing in Week 1 could go a long way in helping this 2025 Giants team prove they are a vastly different squad from last year.

View photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.

e363bccb-e5c4-4b68-9423-1601f6e07892

Tickets available for the Giants Women's Tailgate

Join us Sunday, Sept 28 -10am to 12pm at the Ultimate New York Giants Women's Tailgate, an event designed to celebrate and unite the team's loyal fan base.

Enjoy a curated custom merchandise shop, exclusive Kendra Scott activation, tailgate games, giveaways, photo opportunities, live DJ entertainment, and more!

Related Content

Advertising