The Giants are riding high while the Jets remain in the NFL gutter. Will they remain in their respective spots as Week 2 looms?
Every Wednesday, Baseline’s NFL experts will preview the New York Giants and New York Jets’ respective contests. Editor/founder Anthony Rushing and beat writer Geoff Magliocchetti offer their predictions in East Rutherford and beyond, with special attention dedicated to MetLife Stadium’s current tenants …
Carolina @ N.Y. Giants
(1 p.m. ET, Fox)
Magliocchetti: It’s probably been a long, long time since the New York Giants played in anything resembling a “trap” game.
Heck, there might be no such thing as trap game in Week 2. If there isn’t, the Giants are partaking in the closest thing resembling one: a win over the AFC’s defending regular season champions has given way to a visit from the reeling Carolina Panthers, a team coming off a brutal, winnable opening week loss and one whose supposedly new franchise quarterback could already be fighting for his NFL career. Combine all that with the fact that a nationally televised date with the woebegone Dallas Cowboys awaits in Week 3, and dreams of a perfect September will be dancing through the heads of blue fans everywhere.
At the same time, knowing what we know about modern Giants, this is the very type of game they would find a way to lose. Things appears to be different with Brian Daboll in tow, as the former Buffalo Bills offensive boss has partaken in his share of offensive letdown avoidances in recent seasons. Combine that with a healthy Saquon Barkley … remember, this is a Carolina defense that let up 217 on the ground to Cleveland last week … and the Giants could be sitting pretty.
Playing down to their competition should almost be expected from the Giants until further notice. For the time being, that’s enough to escape with a win against a shady Carolina group.
Giants 20, Panthers 14
Rushing: The Giants are coming off an emotional high this fan base hasn’t seen or felt in years. To have a head coach here that says what he means and does what he says – wow, is this really happening?
Time will tell if Brian Daboll is the answer to what’s been ailing the Giants since Tom Coughlin was shown the door after the 2015-16 season. Daboll, however, has made a strong first impression with the fan base and his players. With Week 1 now in their rearview, the Giants get to show their home crowd this is indeed the real deal. They’ll get an angry Carolina Panthers football team looking to get in the win column after a tough loss at home to Cleveland.
The focus will be on the run game of the Giants with Saquon Barkley against a Panthers’ defense which the Browns ran up, down, and around in Week 1. Can Barkley, the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, deliver an encore performance against a suspect Carolina defense?
This game just feels like a Daniel Jones implosion waiting to happen. Carolina will do all they can to neutralize Barkley, if they’re successful then it puts the emphasis on Jones to step up.
Carolina has to do their part on defense for this to hold up, but this week’s a legit opportunity for Jones to show Brian Daboll he’s the quarterback for now and the future in New York – umm, New Jersey.
Giants 23, Panthers 13
N.Y. Jets @ Cleveland
(1 p.m. ET, CBS)
When all is said and done, Joe Flacco could wind up becoming the New York Jets’ franchise quarterback … on the all-time “Wait, He Played For the Jets?!?!” team (though the competition is stiff with Mark Brunell, Brett Favre, and Michael Vick). For now, he’s just a representative of the long, dreary road back to Zach Wilson … a reward that nobody’s quite sure is worth the wait quite yet.
Named the starter for last week’s opener against Baltimore, Flacco played like how the average football observer would expect a 37-year-old-not-named Tom Brady to play. That led to a stagnant Jets offense in the early going. Granted, their defense deserves some credit for mostly holding tough against a Ravens offense welcoming back its world-class quarterback and other weapons. Newcomers like D.J. Reed and Sauce Gardner were rare silver linings, but it’s not fair to fully place the burden of victory upon them.
Flacco is at quarterback. The Jets are looking forward to fit names like Garrett Wilson into their offensive rotation. Until there’s a sense of offensive balance and flow in working in the New York offense, they’re not going anyway up the standings board. Scoring a touchdown might be a more realistic goal for the only team in the NFL that failed to visit the end zone on kickoff weekend. Even that might prove to be a tall task with Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney blocking the way.
Browns 19, Jets 10
Rushing:
Watching the Jets struggle as mightily as they did last week against Baltimore should leave no one outside of the organization feeling optimistic about this Sunday’s matchup in Cleveland. However, I’ll put my best foot forward, right now.
Joe Flacco will remain as the starting quarterback, for now. Flacco didn’t play well last week against his former team, however, it wasn’t all his fault. What went wrong last week for the Jets must see improvement this week against the Browns. It starts with the offensive line giving Flacco protection from Cleveland’s pass rush led by Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney.
The receivers, simply put, must catch passes they dropped last week. Look for rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson to get involved early in this game. It’s important for Flacco and the offense to find an early rhythm to maintain confidence. On the defensive side of the ball, better play from the safeties. Additionally, can the defense neutralize Cleveland’s ground game?
Jets head coach Robert Saleh acknowledged the obvious – “until we win, until we prove it”, the critics of this team will continue using their futility as material for their content. This week, they take a step in the right direction, but not enough of a step for the win.
Look for a better effort from the Jets, not enough for the win.
Browns 23, Jets 13
Best of the Rest
| Magliocchetti | Rushing | |
| LA Chargers @ Kansas City (Thu.) | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Indianapolis @ Jacksonville | Colts | Jaguars |
| Miami @ Baltimore | Ravens | Dolphins |
| New England @ Pittsburgh | Steelers | Steelers |
| Tampa Bay @ New Orleans | Saints | Saints |
| Washington @ Detroit | Lions | Lions |
| Atlanta @ LA Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Seattle @ San Francisco | 49ers | 49ers |
| Arizona @ Las Vegas | Raiders | Raiders |
| Cincinnati @ Dallas | Bengals | Bengals |
| Houston @ Denver | Broncos | Broncos |
| Chicago @ Green Bay | Packers | Packers |
| Tennessee @ Buffalo (Mon.) | Bills | Bills |
| Minnesota @ Philadelphia (Mon.) | Eagles | Eagles |
Main Image: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
