Why the Giants Will Beat the Titans, Why They Won't, and a Prediction

Can the Giants really pull off a Week 1 upset against the Titans? Let's explore the challenge.

The plans have been laid, the roster is what it is at this point, and the New York Giants are (hopefully) ready to kick off their 2022 regular season against last year's top AFC playoff seed, the Tennessee Titans, in a 4:25 p.m. meeting down at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

This will be our first full look at all the bells and whistles implemented by both Giants coordinators, who mostly kept things very vanilla in the preseason. And while the game's outcome won't necessarily define the year ahead for the Giants, it's still a very big moment for head coach Brian Daboll and this new Giants regime.

"I’d say they’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve picked up the offense, the defense. The kicking game is fairly similar. They come out here; they give 100 percent every day in practice. I think they learn from their mistakes," head coach Brian Daboll said when asked how ready this Giants team is for regular season action.

While Daboll is encouraged by what he's seen dating back to the spring, he acknowledged that there are some unknown variables.

"I don’t think you ever really know, no matter where I’ve been, how opening day is going to go, whether it’s been a team that’s won a Super Bowl or a team that hasn’t won many games," he said.

"I think you do your best job to prepare the players both mentally and physically and do everything you can do to go out there and put your best foot forward and then go play a good game and not focus on ‘What if this happened or ‘this bad play happened.’ Just be very positive in your approach, be real, and go out there and trust your preparation."

That said, fasten your seatbelts, Giants fans, because Week 1 is here.

Why the Giants Will Win

The weak spot on the Titans defense is their cornerback unit, which could play into the perceived strength of the Giant defense, which is intermediate to the deep ball. Of course, for quarterback Daniel Jones to have the opportunity to throw the ball, his revamped offensive line, the left guard identity still not known as of this writing, needs to give him time to throw.

The Titans will likely crowd the box against running back Saquon Barkley and dare Jones to beat them with his arm. If that's the case, expect the Giants to go to a lot of short crossing patterns and slants, which will necessitate Jones getting the ball out of his hand quickly and to his playmakers, who can pick up the yards after the catch.

Ideally, the Giants will want to lean on the running game for no reason other than to chew up the clock and keep Derrick Henry and company on the sideline. But if the Giants can get off to a quick start and score on their opening drive, that will certainly help them gain some early-game momentum.

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Why the Giants Will Lose

Running back Derrick Henry, nicknamed "The King," racked up 1,091 scrimmage yards (937 rushing, 154 receiving) and ten rushing touchdowns in eight games last season and led all players with 117.1 rush yards per game (minimum 200 attempts). Henry is a load to bring down, having forced 283 broken tackles over his career.

Besides gang tackling him, the best way to try to slow down Henry is to load up the box with defenders able to cut off every conceivable rushing lane Henry might otherwise have.

If the Giants are to do that, they better have full confidence in their cornerbacks to hold their coverage. That includes second-year man Aaron Robinson, who had his share of struggles in the preseason while working mostly against backup players. In 52 snaps played at outside corner, Robinson was targeted 12 times, allowing six completions and drawing two penalties. He finished with a 95.8 coverage rating.

Robinson is probably better suited for the slot, but because of the huge hole created when the team had to let James Bradberry go, the team has been hoping for the former UCF player to step in and fill that role. He still might grow into it with more experience, but if things keep up the way they went in the preseason, it might be a matter of time before the Giants go in a different direction.

What Will Probably Happen

Giants general manager Joe Schoen said it best. We're probably not going to know what this Giants team is until it has about four games under its belt. Starting this week, we're probably going to see a team that is still finding its way and is jelling on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, the Titans are an established team comfortable in the systems it runs. Add that to having the home-field advantage, and the chances of the Giants winning their first regular-season opener since 2016 don't look very promising.

Titans 30, Giants 17

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