NY Giants Glean Fleeting Positives in Latest Season-Opening Defeat

The New York Giants certainly hope that the "it’s not about how you start, it's how you finish" trope comes to fruition for Big Blue by the end of this year.

New York endured another Week 1 disappointment on Sunday in Landover, dropping a 21-6 decision to the Washington Commanders.

Such brutality rendered preseason progress, namely its triple-digit scoring output over the trio, mostly forgotten, as the Giants (0-1) struggled to generate any lasting momentum against their lasting rival.

While acknowledging the need for change and reflection, members of the Giants tried to cling to fleeting positives in defeat: the primary blue yield was the idea that New York kept the defending NFC finalists in striking distance despite mustering only 231 yards of offense. 

Washington's lead only reached its summit in the fourth quarter, and it never led by more than two possessions at any point.

"Just focus on what we can do better,” said quarterback Russell Wilson when asked how to prevent falling into a rut.

“We have a good team, [Washington] is a good football team too. It was a close game. They scored in the last few minutes there. But it was 14-6, we really should have been at least 14-10 or trying to get 14-17 or something like that.”

“The most disappointing thing is really not getting the job done. I felt like the whole game was just right there, but just a little too far from our grasp," added linebacker Brian Burns. 

"Kept them to 14 basically the entire game until the middle of the fourth, so I felt like we were in the game for the most part, but we just couldn't get that last extra push to tie it up or even take the lead.”