After their first win, the Giants are moving up the rankings!
The New York Giants won a football game this weekend, one that many didn’t expect them to win.
Fortunately, anything can happen in the NFL, as the Giants now hope to build some momentum off their first victory of the season. Now, with something other than a “0” in the win column, media outlets are starting to put a little respect on the Giants’ name, as they rank as high as No. 24 in this week’s power rankings.
The results of where the Giants rank vary, but the good news is that they aren’t considered among the bottom two teams in the league anymore!
CBS Sports– No. 24
They won for the first time at Cleveland with an impressive defensive showing. The pass rush came alive. Malik Nabers is special.
USA Today– No. 27
Their 14 sacks trail only Minnesota, the G-Men becoming the fourth team in the last 43 seasons to have nine players record at least a half-sack in the same game.
Bleacher Report– No. 28
The New York Giants got off to a miserable start to the 2024 season—a blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings followed by a close loss to the rival Commanders. But despite another slow start, New York quarterback Daniel Jones told reporters ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cleveland that the Giants remained confident they could turn things around.
“We have a high standard for ourselves and what we can be, what this team can be,” Jones said. “We’re confident in getting things going and we’re working hard to do that. Nobody’s happy with where we are, from a record standpoint, but we understand what we need to do to turn it around and catch some momentum. No one’s freaking out.”
That confidence showed in Week 3.
Jones had his best game of the season in Sunday’s win over the Browns—24 completions in 34 attempts for 236 yards and two scores without an interception. Both of those touchdowns went to rookie Malik Nabers, who has very much looked the part of a No. 1 wide receiver over the past two weeks. The New York defense held the Browns to 217 yards of offense, forced two turnovers and made some key fourth-down stops.
Frankly, Sunday’s win may say more about how bad the Browns are than how good the Giants can be. But the Giants desperately needed some positive momentum—a victory to build on ahead of Thursday’s prime-time tilt with the Dallas Cowboys.
We’ll see how much that momentum matters in a couple of days.
The Athletic- No. 29
Surprise: Malik Nabers’ start
Everyone thought the rookie wide receiver would be good, but this good was impossible to predict. He’s the only receiver in the league with more than 50 percent of his team’s air yards this season. On Sunday, he became the first player in NFL history with at least 20 catches and three touchdown catches in his first three games, and he’s fifth among all players with 271 receiving yards.
Yahoo! Sports– No. 29
Malik Nabers is a star already. According to NFL Research he’s the first player in league history with 20 receptions, 250 yards and three touchdowns in his first three games. The Giants have shown that they’re comfortable building their entire offense around him.
ESPN.com– No. 30
Biggest issue on offense: Turnovers
The Giants have five turnovers in three games, and running back Devin Singletary had costly fumbles in each of the past two games. New York was also fortunate a roughing the passer penalty negated a would-be interception by QB Daniel Jones early against Cleveland in Week 3. For this group to get to the next level, New York needs to do a better job at protecting the football. Singletary, in particular, has to get the fumbling under control. Only one running back (Dalvin Cook) has more fumbles than the 13 Singletary has since entering the league in 2019. — Jordan Raanan
