The Giants entered the 2025 season with renewed hope, determined to avoid the slow starts that have blighted them in the past two seasons. However, the Commanders swept them aside 21-6 in the season opener.
Although the game was a one-score contest into the fourth quarter, it was a disappointing start for New York.
Here are the biggest stories to watch as the Giants look to avoid an 0-2 start to the season…
Two missing Micahs
The Giants will be glad to have Micah Parsons out of the division after the pass rusher who has terrorized them in recent seasons was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Without their main defensive star, Dallas was held to just one sack in the opener against the Eagles.
New York is without its own Micah, though, as they lost starting linebacker Micah McFadden to a foot injury in the opener. Darius Muasau, who was a rookie last season, will take on a bigger role alongside Bobby Okereke. The veteran Okereke had 16 tackles in Week 1, but can't be relied upon to do it all himself.
How badly do the Giants miss Andrew Thomas?
The Giants will once again be in the familiar position of hoping that Andrew Thomas can return to the lineup this week, and that he won't be limited in his first game since his foot injury last year.
There's no doubt New York's line is downgraded with him out, and they struggled in Washington with James Hudson starting for Thomas at left tackle. Although the Commanders only recorded two sacks, they also added eight quarterback hits.
Another key moment was when the Giants got inside the five-yard line in the second quarter trailing by seven. They couldn't get into the end zone despite a fourth-down penalty that gave them a fresh set of downs from the one-yard line. With Thomas in there, they would have a better chance of converting such opportunities.
Will the Russell Wilson-Malik Nabers connection start to click this week?
Nabers had 71 receiving yards in the opener but Wilson targeted him 12 times and completed fewer than half of those. Nabers continues to obviously be frustrated with the coaching staff, with his emotions boiling over on the sidelines, and not for the first time.
The Cowboys showed evidence of being able to neutralize a pass-catching threat in the Eagles game, with A.J. Brown held to just one catch for eight yards. The Giants will probably need to make a concerted effort to get Nabers involved.
Will CeeDee Lamb bounce back from his mistakes?
Lamb had a 110-yard game in Week 1, but he uncharacteristically had three costly dropped passes. Dallas could potentially have upset the Super Bowl champions if he caught any one of those three.
Lamb has a good history against New York as he has only had fewer than 75 receiving yards twice in 10 games. In all, he has had three 100-yard games and four touchdowns against the Giants. Dallas has a 9-1 record in those games.
Can the Giants get the running game going?
Giants running backs combined to generate just 30 yards on 15 carries in the opener, putting Wilson in far too many obvious passing situations. This week, they face a Dallas front that held Saquon Barkley to just 3.3 yards per carry in the opener.
Thomas returning would help, but Tyrone Tracy Jr. was productive even with Thomas missing 11 of 17 games last season, so the Giants really need him to get going.
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