This is less about buzzkill and more about projection, mixed in with a sense of impending Giants reality.
We can go ahead and predict that in any game for the remainder of the season:
Russell Wilson will not throw for 450 yards again, as he did last weekend.
The Giants will not have seven receptions of 25 or more yards.
It is quite possible the Giants do not surpass 37 points.
One week should not completely inflate the expectations for what this offense will look like or how this squad is supposed to be balanced out.
This team was built to play defense first and try to get the scoring up into the low-to-mid 20s, on average. This roster was fortified in the off-season to evolve into a top-10 defense.
Two weeks in, the Giants are last in the NFL in defense, and if there is not significant improvement, this season will be a goner rather quickly.
This brings us to Sunday night. If ever there was a group that needed to come up big it is the defense directed by coordinator Shane Bowen.
The Chiefs arrive at MetLife Stadium for a nationally televised contest featuring two teams with 0-2 records.
The Chiefs lost in the Super Bowl last February, and they have the look of a squad in possible decline. But they still have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Andy Reid calling the plays as the head coach and a championship pedigree.
No one will be surprised if they leave New Jersey at 1-2 and talk of their demise is shelved for the time being.
If this Giants defense — led by Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie Abdul Carter up front and enough experience and skill on the back end — cannot make a stand and at least make Mahomes sweat this one out, it will be a grim sign for what is to come.
When Bowen earlier this week said, “We got things we got to fix,” he wasn’t kidding.
“I’d say I feel like in flashes we’ve shown what we can do,” Burns said.
Flashes are not going to get it done.
The Giants still cannot stop the run, allowing an NFL-worst 177.5 yards per game. They have six sacks in two games, tied with five other teams — the Patriots lead the league with nine, three teams have eight sacks and three have seven. Burns has collected three of his team’s sacks.
The Giants never had the lead in their 21-6 season-opening loss to the Commanders then competed at a decent enough level for three quarters in Dallas before giving up 20 points in the fourth quarter in a 40-37 overtime loss.
The Chiefs have yet to erupt on offense in one-score losses to the Chargers (27-21) and Eagles (20-17) — overreliant on Mahomes, who has accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns (two passing, two running) and is the rushing leader, which is not a good sign.
“They know we have a big challenge with the Chiefs coming in,” Bowen said of his defense. “I mean, they’re looking forward to the opportunity. They are. Again, we’re two games in. We’re not where we want to be defensively. We have to improve. We all understand that. But at the same time, we got a great opportunity this week on ‘Sunday Night Football’ to go out there and play against a really good offense, really good quarterback, and hopefully put our best foot forward.”
It has taken until Week 3 for the Giants to get to their home opener, and maybe that will spark their defense into action.
“We’re extremely excited for it,” linebacker Bobby Okereke told The Post. “We know the environment it’s going to be Sunday night with our fans, how excited they are and with this matchup, two 0-2 teams that I don’t think the record is indicative of talent level and proposed production level.”
The production level with an offense orchestrated by Wilson was paltry in Week 1 and should have been more than enough in Week 2. A home crowd that was energized seeing rookie Jaxson Dart in the preseason gets its first look at Wilson with the Giants in a regular-season game.
“I’m excited about the challenge,” Wilson said. “A little bit of adversity is never a bad thing, it molds you.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
