Giants Start NFL Season Ranked Toward Bottom of MMQB's Power Rankings

The Giants land at No. 29 in the first in-season iteration of MMQB's power ranking poll.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) gains yards after catch during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Giants are the only team in the NFL to not score at least 10 points in Week 1, so no one would have blamed SI’s MMQB staff had they ranked the New York Giants dead last in their Week 1 power ranking poll, particularly not after the Giants' performance in a 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

But someone must have taken mercy on the Giants because the Giants landed at No. 29 on this week’s power ranking poll.

(Hey, it’s better than 32, right?)

Conor Orr, who puts the weekly power ranking poll together, believes the Giants need to bench quarterback Daniel Jones, who picked up where he left off last year and not in a good way.

“The way Jones has to play in order to succeed—mobile, part of the running game—will almost certainly get him hurt,” Orr wrote, citing the injury guarantee he has in his contract for next year.

“As the Week 1 overreaction buzz wears off, I am more inclined to say he should get another crack against a middling Commanders team. But there’s also an advantage to giving Drew Lock that starts to build confidence before a hellish stretch.”

Orr is correct in that it’s too soon to overreact after just one game, not without giving head coach Brian Daboll and his staff the chance to fix things. But a pessimist will also point out that with Jones going into Year 6, he is what he is at this point, with there being questions as to whether Daboll can work his magic with Jones the way he did with Josh Allen in Buffalo.

Jones isn’t solely to blame for the Giants’ woeful start in the power rankings, but all eyes are on him since he plays the most visible position on the team. Since signing his four-year, $160 million contract, Jones has only led the team to one win, that a come-from-behind triumph against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 of last year, and has thrown three pick-sixes to only two touchdowns.

Daboll told reporters on Monday that he’s sticking with Jones and wants the entire team and the coaching to improve in the coming week. Jones, for his part, didn’t seem to have his confidence rattled when he spoke to reporters after Sunday’s enable.

But all the talk in the world doesn’t mean a thing unless something positive comes of it, and that’s what remains to be seen.