Commanders: NFC East power rankings after Week 1
By Jerry Trotta
3. New York Giants
Like the Commanders, the Giants won in ugly fashion to open the year. But you won’t find Giants fans nit-picking the victory. New York is very clearly in great hands with Brian Daboll, who showed a ton of guts to go for the win after Daniel Jones hit Chris Myarick to tie the game with just over a minute left in the fourth.
The Titans’ receiving corps is a work-in progress and the Giants smartly game-planned to stymie Derrick Henry. To their credit, Wink Martindale’s unit accomplished just that, limiting the two-time rushing champ to 82 yards on 21 carries.
The biggest takeaway from New York’s win, though, was Saquon Barkley, who erupted for 164 rushing yards and a TD on 9.1 yards per carry and six catches for 30 yards as a receiver. Barkley’s been adamant all offseason that 2022 would be his revenge tour after two injury-plagued seasons and he looked a lot like the player who terrorized defenses in 2018 and 2019 before injuries took their toll.
Don’t be shocked if the G-Men threaten to climb the rankings, as their next three games — Panthers, Cowboys and Bears — are extremely winnable.