NY Giants Gain Minor Boost in MMQB's Latest Power Rankings Poll

One of the most succinct ways to describe the New York Giants' 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 this past Sunday was that of an enigma.

Just one week after the Giants offense looked like it would carry over its inefficiency from the 2024 season despite a major change at the quarterback position with Russell Wilson taking over, the same huddle exploded in Arlington in what became a staple clash between two big NFC East rivals, both trying to desperately avoid a 0-2 start to the year.

Although they were facing a much weaker Cowboys defense that was without Micah Parsons terrorizing them off the edge for the first time, following his trade to the Green Bay Packers, Wilson and his new arsenal put on a vintage aerial showing against a porous secondary that had little answers to his moonballs that helped produce over 500 yards of total production, four touchdowns and six lead changes in regulation.

As the story goes, none of the timely and narrative shifting heroics by the Giants' veteran signal caller were enough for them to seal their first victory of the campaign. 

Instead, the well ran dry as they were forced into overtime by a Brandon Aubrey 64-yard field goal and then stunned on a 46-yard attempt a few possessions later for a grueling loss that marked the second straight 0-2 hole for the visitors.

While the final scoreboard didn't reflect what should have been a positive outcome for New York, it was enough to convince SI.com’s  Connor Orr to hand the Giants a minor boost in the order of the latest MMQB power rankings poll as the page turns towards a Week 3 duel with the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium.

Orr, who dropped the Giants down to No. 29 following their offensive sputter in Week 1, ranked them into their original positioning at No. 27, ahead of the Saints, Browns, Titans, and Dolphins. The only peculiarity in his analysis of the slot was that he had not much to say about the shocking defeat.

"I will think about this person once a week as long as I live," Orr wrote while showing a pinned tweet showing an all-Giants fantasy football lineup that still lost despite the team's offensive barrage.

The lack of an explanation by Orr can truly be forgiven, as it'll be hard to fathom for some time how the Giants managed to let what would have been their first week against the Cowboys in four seasons slip from their grasp in the span of 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

If one remembers, it wasn't mere hours after their 21-6 loss to the Commanders that many in the media and fanbase were calling for Wilson to be replaced by rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who they believed would ignite the spark into the Giants' offense that was absent in that contest.

Wilson, who posted a new career-high of 15.0 yards per completion in his outstanding performance, came ready to respond and hushed those critics as he authored several moonball shots downfield to Wan'Dale Robinson and Malik Nabers that put his team ahead twice in the final 2:44 of the fourth frame.

The jaw-dropping stat line would, unfortunately, earn its one scar in the form of Wilson's untimely interception in the extra period that eventually set up Aubrey's 46-yard kick to seal the comeback win for Dallas. Still, it's hard to really pin the bulk of the blame on one play from a guy whose team wouldn't have been in contention for the win without him.