Everything was set up for the Giants to make a statement in Week 1. Not only did they have an opportunity to play the Cowboys at home, but they could show everyone they were for real under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.
Only the opposite happened. Big Blue got completely embarrassed, losing 40-0. They were outmatched in every way, and New York fit a whole season’s worth of futility into just one week.
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Between this Week 1 beatdown and their Divisional Round playoff loss vs. the Eagles last January, it hasn’t been pretty:
The Giants have been outscored 78-7 by the Cowboys and Eagles in their last seven-plus quarters of real football.
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) September 11, 2023
But, what does it feel like to lose by 40 points and still be favored the following week? I don’t know, but you can ask the Giants about that. Here’s what the ESNY staff thinks will happen this week:
GIANTS (-4) AT CARDINALS (line via Sports Betting Dime)
Matt Musico’s pick (1-0 straight-up, 1-0 against the spread): It’s really hard to look any worse than the Giants did in Week 1. So, one would have to assume the only direction they can go is up, right? Things won’t get easy in Week 3 since they’ll need to head back out to the West Coast to face the San Francisco 49ers on short rest for Thursday Night Football. So, that makes winning this game against a beatable Cardinals squad even more important.
New York will have some familiarity here, too, since former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is now Arizona’s head coach. It’d be nice to see Daniel Jones get into any kind of groove, especially with Darren Waller, who is once again dealing with a hamstring issue. Ultimately, I think Big Blue gets themselves back on track with a road victory. Giants 24, Cardinals 17.
ESNY Staff Picks:
- Josh Benjamin (1-0, 1-0): Giants 24, Cardinals 6
- Danny Small (0-1, 0-1): Giants 23, Cardinals 21
- James Kratch (1-0, 1-0): Giants 17, Cardinals 16
- Ryan Honey (0-1, 0-1): Giants 26, Cardinals 17
ACROSS TOWN: New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys Week 2 Staff Picks
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
