The Giants go into New Orleans this week looking for their first win of the season. It won’t be easy walking out of the Caesars Superdome with a victory.
The Saints will be playing their first home game of the season. Their Week 1 home opener versus Green Bay was moved to Jacksonville due to Hurricane Ida.
It’s now the ideal scenario for a winless team to walk into, but there’s no time for a pity party. For Big Blue, these are desperate times. With fans already one foot out on this season, the Giants need to stop the bleeding – whatever it takes.
And that means walking into loud Superdome, filled with passionate fans ready to welcome their Saints back home.
The odds are stacked against the Giants. Moreover, injuries to key players continue to hamper their progress.
The offense will be without starting wide receivers Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Darius Slayton (hamstring). Shepard, with 18 catches for 223 yards, is the team’s leading receiver and the favorite target for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Starting left guard Ben Bredeson (hand) will also be unavailable this week. Instability on the offensive line has been an enormous hurdle the Giants have been unable to clear this season.
As I mentioned earlier, there won’t be a pity party. It’s next man up and that means rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney projects to see extended playing time this week. Meanwhile, on the offensive line, all signs point to veteran Matt Skura replacing Bredeson at left guard.
The Giants, at 0-3, must play with a sense of urgency this week in New Orleans. Following their Week 3 loss to Atlanta, head coach Joe Judge continued to preach patience while trying his best to assure everyone his team is alright.
But there hasn’t been anything “alright” about what the fan base has seen yet from the overall performance of this team. Yes, an 0-4 start to the season doesn’t officially eliminate them from playoff contention. However, the fans know better.
I wrote on here how much the Giants resemble all the things Judge told us they wouldn’t be when he took the job. Will we see a different team this week? Fewer penalties, better execution?
Four quarters, with a sense of urgency, is what everyone wants to see from the Giants this week. Let’s see what they show us.
