NFL power rankings, Week 2: Giants plummet after disastrous season opener

Unsurprisingly, the New York Giants are ranked towards the bottom of the pack in most sports sites’ Week 2 NFL power rankings.

It’s only one game, as most writers have been quick to point out. Still, it’s tough to rank the Giants much higher after a 40-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, who are now being ranked as a top five team by many outlets.

Perhaps the Giants will beat up on the lowly Arizona Cardinals this Sunday and restore some of the optimism that surrounded the team just one week ago. The Cardinals are still ranked at No. 32 by nearly every website.

New York fell eight spots in our aggregate score, which averages out the rankings of the websites listed below. Let’s take a look at what the media is saying.

Aggregate Ranking: No. 23

Last week: No. 16

NFL.com (28)

The Giants had the most disheartening Week 1 performance. At the center of the struggles in the 40-zip home loss to Dallas: the team’s past two first-round picks, its $40 million quarterback and the franchise-tagged running back. The Cowboys’ pick-six off Saquon Barkley’s hands really set the tone for a dismal night. Daniel Jones was sacked seven times and didn’t complete a pass longer than 9 yards until Dallas was up 26-0. This year’s first-rounder, CB Deonte Banks, left the game with cramps, and one of last year’s first-rounders, Evan Neal, was worked over in pass pro. If you’re a Giants fan, maybe you take solace in the fact that the 2022 Vikings lost 40-3 to the Cowboys at home last season before finishing 13-4. Or maybe you start worrying about four of the Giants’ next five games being on the road.

ESPN (25)

Best debut performance: CB Deonte Banks

Week 1 stats: Tackle, 2 targets, 2 passes defensed

The No. 24 overall pick played really well before his debut was cut short because of cramps. In 13 coverage snaps, he was targeted twice for no completions with two passes defended, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Now, not much else went right for the Giants, but at least their top pick had a promising performance. Banks left late in the first half after one of those passes defended but was expected to return. It just didn’t happen, perhaps in part because of the lopsided score. — Jordan Raanan

Pro Football Talk (14)

It still counts as only one loss, as long as they can forget about it and move on.

Sporting News (24)

The Giants showed zero life in the rain at MetLife in getting blown out of their own building in all three phases. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley didn’t look like they just go paid. Getting shut out is rough but they face a must-win get-well game in Arizona.

FOX Sports (27)

Do I actually think the Giants are the sixth-worst team in the league? No. But I ask you: where should I put them after that performance? Getting power bombed, 40-0, on your own field after an offseason of hype is about as putrid a performance as you can turn in. It’s hard to know whether to feel worse about Daniel Jones or his offensive line.

Pro Football Network (No. 8 among 16 0-1 teams)

The Giants may very well end up being a good football team, but they struggled to get anything going against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. A blocked kick, a big Trevon Diggs hit, and a bad decision by Daniel Jones made what was likely going to be a tall task impossible. Once Dallas got a lead, Dan Quinn let his pass rush eat.

Jones was using legs early on with great success. But if the Giants offense wants to take a step forward in their development, they must find some explosiveness in the dropback passing attack.

Sportsnaut (22)

Well, fans have to hope that’s the most embarrassing thing to happen to the New York Giants this year. Let’s not overreact with Daniel Jones too much, few quarterbacks could’ve handled the amount of pressure he faced on Sunday Night Football behind that paper-mache offensive line. Now, if Arizona does that to the Giants’ offensive line and Jones commits turnovers like it’s 2019, New York has a Big Apple-sized problem.