Giants look to add to momentum with Week 2 win over Panthers

The Empire State Constructing will illuminate its world-famous tower lights in Giants blue Saturday night time, main into the primary house recreation of the 2022 common season Sunday. The Giants are 1-0 for the primary time in six years as they take the sector at MetLife Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff, and meaning about three hours later we are going to all know if the brightness shining in the beginning of Brian Daboll’s head-coaching profession will proceed to glow or has been dimmed.

There is no such thing as a doubt Daboll’s daring determination in Week 1 to go for the 2-point conversion and the win, somewhat than play for additional time, received over Giants followers and fostered a perception in his gamers that their boss has their again. Upsetting the Titans, 21-20, in Nashville — particularly the best way it unfolded — was a state of affairs past anybody’s creativeness, so far as crafting a Daboll storybook debut.

A renewed sense of hope is certain to permeate Daboll’s first recreation in entrance of loyalists who’ve grown weary of questioning what their favourite staff will do that week to embarrass the franchise. The final time the Giants performed a house recreation that mattered, they turned meme-generated laughingstocks in a desultory 2021 season-ending loss to Washington, lowlighted by two consecutive quarterback kneel-downs, an unlucky coda to the Joe Decide teaching tenure.

That was then. The vibe heading into the Week 2 recreation in opposition to the Panthers is way extra jump-up than kneel-down. One recreation doesn’t wipe away the previous 5 years of sorry soccer, however there isn’t any doubt Daboll is off to a flying begin. The response needs to be rousing, proper?

“That’s an incredible query,’’ stated Saquon Barkley, who did greater than anybody to ensure the Giants received their opener. “I can’t actually inform, I assume I’ll in all probability know that reply a bit higher on Sunday after I get on the market and see everybody that comes out.

“One factor that I can say in regards to the Giants’ followers: Win, loss, or draw they’re going to point out up, you’re going to listen to them. Whether or not it’s ‘boos’ or whether or not it’s ‘hoorays’ or no matter you need to name it. They’ve been nice followers, they’ve been exhibiting out since I’ve been right here. Hopefully this yr we will go on the market and provides them one thing to be proud about.’’

Daboll arrives as a conquering hero, primarily based on his unblemished report one week into his Giants teaching tenure. He dutifully honed in on his first house recreation by taking part in to the group — “I like our fan base’’ — as he anticipated a packed home.

“They’re fairly good followers up right here, so the extra we will get in there, the higher it’ll be,’’ Daboll stated.

Wink Martindale, Daboll’s hand-picked defensive coordinator, implored Giants followers to make life depressing for the Panthers once they have the ball.

“If you wish to be a part of altering this tradition right here with the Giants, be loud and have that place rocking the place folks don’t need to come to our stadium,’’ he stated.

There may be nothing mistaken with any of that, aside from the necessity to say it. When the Giants had been contending for postseason berths and forging successful data, there was no requirement to persuade the followers to point out up and to consider. Instances have modified. House will be the place the guts is, and residential will also be the place the hostility is.

That is the primary of three consecutive house video games for the Giants. The Panthers are 0-1. Subsequent, on “Monday Night time Soccer” on Sept. 26, it will likely be the Cowboys, a staff that misplaced its opener and quarterback, Dak Prescott. The Bears, who will are available in on Oct. 2, are nobody’s choose to have a giant yr. There is a chance for a successful report after 4 video games for the primary time since 2011. The caveat is that success one week typically has nothing to do with what occurs the subsequent week, particularly with a program in its nascent levels.

“A win simply mainly boosts your confidence,’’ receiver Kadarius Toney stated. “It simply lets that the arduous work that you’re placing in is working. It means quite a bit round right here as a result of we’ve come a great distance from having arduous instances. This yr, I simply really feel like we’re overcoming our adversity, we’re studying cope with it in numerous methods.’’