New York Giants v Tennessee Titans
Wesley Hitt / Getty Images

You could argue no team had a statement win quite like the G-men in Week 1. They overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to win on the road against last season's No. 1 seed in the AFC. They also did it in dramatic fashion by scoring the game-winning points on a do-or-die, two-point conversion attempt.

The Giants are now over .500 for the first time since the final game of the 2016 regular season. They are also currently favorites in each of their next three games, including Week 2 against the Panthers. This would snap a streak of 15 straight games as an underdog.

Now, it'd be easy to come up with reasons why this is a Week 1 overreaction. Like, pump the brakes, they were tied for the worst record in the league in the previous five seasons, with the Jets.

But, here's three reasons to believe in the Giants, or least be intrigued by them.

1. Brian Daboll impact

New head coach Brian Daboll's huge gamble paid off to win the game. Not the type of boldness you would expect in someone's first game as a head coach. He is actually the first in NFL history to go for a two-point conversion down by one point in the fourth quarter of his head coaching debut.

  • For context. There's been 30 instances of a team going for two in those situations since the two-point try was implemented in 1994. Teams have opted for an extra point 544 times, or 95% of the time.

Daboll became a hot name on the head coaching market thanks to his fingerprints on the Bills' dynamic offense. Early indications are the Giants' offense might have some flavor, too.

  • The Giants used motion at or before the snap on 59% of plays in Week 1 (ninth in NFL), their second-highest rate in a game in the last five seasons, and up from 29% in 2021 (31st in NFL). Only one team (Eagles) used RPOs (run-pass option) more than the Giants in Week 1 (16 times).

  • Saquon Barkley was the biggest beneficiary of the Giants adding this wrinkle to their offense. He had 12 rushes for 155 yards with motion on Sunday, and six rushes for 9 yards without it. He's already surpassed his entire rushing total from last year when the Giants used motion.

Saquon Barkley rushing with motion at/before snap (2021-22)

2021

2022

Pct. of rushes

30%

67%

Rush yards

126

155

Yards/rush

2.6

12.9

Daboll also opened up the Giants' offense. New York used at least three receivers at the third-highest rate in the league (90%) in Week 1 after ranking 23rd a year ago (59%). 

The motion and space paid dividends for Daniel Jones, who kept it short and simple. He had zero off-target passes for the first time in a game in his career. Only one other QB had no off-target passes in Week 1, Daboll's former signal-caller Josh Allen.

And it's hard to argue the results for the entire Giants offense. It averaged the third-most yards per play in Week 1 (6.8) behind only the Chiefs and Bills. Plus, it already has more 60-yard plays (two) than all of last season (one).

2. Barkley is back

Saquon Barkley was the biggest bright spot on the Giants' offense as he led all players with 194 yards from scrimmage in Week 1, the second-most by a Giants player in a season opener since 1950 (Tiki Barber: 200 in 2004).

He looked like his old self, turning on the jets for a 68-yard run, clocked at speeds he hadn't hit since before his ACL tear.

Barkley showed the burst to blow past a safety on his long run and the agility to dodge two tacklers on the game-winning, two-point try. Ultimately, he led the league in rush yards over expected in Week 1, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, a good sign that he has his mojo back.

Perhaps another confidence booster to Barkley: The Giants didn't go away from the run game despite trailing most of the game.

  • They ran the ball 55% of time in Week 1, tied for the second-highest rate in the league.

  • That includes an NFL-best 63% of the time when trailing by double figures, nearly double their rate from last season (32%). 

3. They won a game they almost always lose

In years past, the Giants could never overcome turnovers and double-digit deficits. That all changed in Week 1 against the Titans:

  • Daniel Jones made mistakes that usually sink the Giants. They entered the game 3-12 when he committed multiple turnovers. He even got picked off in the end zone late in the game.

  • They trailed 13-0 at halftime. The Giants had been 1-17 with Jones when trailing by 13-plus points at any point.

  • They weren't expected to win a tough road game to begin with. They entered 1-15 as an underdog of at least 5.5 points with Jones.

Put it all together, the Giants should be on our radar as a team that can go from worst to first in a vulnerable division, especially with the injury to Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.