they do this every year

Well, postgame blogs are back, and so are the Giants losing in the most embarrassing fashion possible in Week 1 of the NFL season. This game was the third consecutive opener where the Giants failed to score a single touchdown, something that was last done by the Detroit Lions in the 1940s. Not ideal.

First off, credit to whoever runs the Giants’ PR department. Every offseason, they somehow convince us fans that the tide is finally turning, only for us to be humbled within minutes of turning on the TV in Week 1.

The defense actually started strong against an elite Commanders offense. They held their own right up until linebacker Micah McFadden went down with a gruesome injury. The very next play, his backup Darius Muasau lost his man in coverage and gave up an easy touchdown to Zach Ertz.

The Giants’ offense answered with a long drive, but what followed was one of the most pathetic sequences I’ve seen in years, which is saying something. Thanks to penalties, the Giants had seven straight chances inside the red zone. Seven! And they still couldn’t punch it in. They got stuffed at the goal line, Russ missed a wide-open Darius Slayton for a walk-in touchdown, and at one point they even threw a pass to a rookie right tackle. Truly pitiful. 

After all that, on 4th-and-goal for the second time that drive, Brian Daboll opted for a field goal. This is the same Brian “Da-balls,” who once went for two in his first career game with a minute left on the clock. But now he wants to play it safe.

It turns out Giants fans weren’t the only ones upset with Daboll. Malik Nabers was caught on the sideline getting in his coach’s face and even leaving him hanging on a high five. I’m sure it was just frustration boiling over, but when your best player is yelling and then sitting with a towel over his head, it’s definitely cause for concern.

 image via @talkingiants on X

But Daboll wasn’t the only one making questionable calls. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen left me scratching my head a few times too. First-round pick Abdul Carter only played 54% of the snaps, most of them wasted playing spy on the elusive Jayden Daniels. Meanwhile, Dexter Lawrence, the cornerstone of the defense, played just 70% of the snaps for reasons I truly cannot comprehend. 

Of course, fans are already calling for Russell Wilson’s head. But with the offensive line playing this poorly, there’s no way Daboll can throw Jaxson Dart out there in good faith. Andrew Thomas is still nursing a foot injury, and I’d still expect him to miss the next week or two. I originally thought Dart wouldn’t see the field until Week 5 at the earliest, but now it feels like whenever Thomas gets healthy, Daboll will suddenly decide Dart is “ready.”

Until then, Giants fans… stay DangeRUSS.