The power rankings around the league started out -- legitimately -- skeptical of the New York Giants. After snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with two straight heartbreaking fourth quarter losses, the Giants fell even further in the rankings.
But then Thursday Night Football happened and the Giants got a 32 - 21 victory over the Washington Redskins in a game that wasn't that close. After many predicted a Giants loss, how did a dominating win change the perception of the Giants?
SB Nation -- 23rd Overall (last week: 24th)
NFL.com -- 19th Overall (last week: 27th)
Appropriate bounce back by the Giants, who once again entered the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead -- only this time, they didn't blow it! Nice to see Rueben Randle out there making big plays, bad knee and all. (He still looks a bit hobbled.) Andre Williams needs to take it easy on those defensive backs, man. If the second-year pro trucks any more guys like he did that poor Redskins safety, Rashad Jennings might be asked to block more punts.
ESPN -- 16th Overall (last week: 26th)
No interceptions in 108 attempts to start the season for Eli Manning, his longest streak to start a season in his career. He had four interceptions at this point last season.
Yahoo! Sports -- 26th Overall (last week: 26th)
I'm not sure why some Giants fans believe a home win over Washington is the start of them marching toward an NFC East title, but to each their own.
Fox Sports -- 16th Overall (last week: 24th)
The Giants finally held on to a double-digit fourth quarter lead and proved that they can close. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has done an incredible job with a subpar defense. With Victor Cruz set to return in Week 4, and Eli Manning yet to throw an interception, things are trending up for the Giants.
CBS Sports -- 15th Overall (last week: 18th)
After beating the Redskins last Thursday, they face a stiff road test at Buffalo. The offense will be challenged by that Bills defense.
Well there you have it, NFL.com, ESPN, FOX Sports, and CBS are all fairly bullish on the Giants. In fact, NFL.com, ESPN, and FOX all have the Giants rising significantly in their rankings. Coming through and winning in the 4th quarter against a team that had dominated the line of scrimmage seems to have given them confirmation that the Giants might not be as bad as they thought.
SB Nation and Yahoo! Sports seem to be taking more of a "wait and see" approach with the Giants.
How do you think the Giants rank?