Why a Week 1 loss could have deeper impact for Giants

The difference between 1-0 and 0-1 is monumental for the Giants.When the proceedings are over and done with Sunday at MetLife Stadium, they need to be won-and-oh! And they are advised not to be no-and-one.Not that the season will come crashing down if the Giants embark on their 2024 campaign with a loss.A Week 1 defeat will not be back-breaking, but it could be damaging in this regard: From the outside, there is so much negativity hovering overhead, so little respect for their roster and talent base, so much contempt for returning quarterback Daniel Jones, and so little belief in what general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have assembled.

There is rampant speculation that this is one of the NFL’s worst outfits.All this gets exacerbated if the opener is a downer.With all this animus stored up for what the Giants might become, consider how much more dour the naysayers will grow if the Vikings — with Jets and Panthers castoff Sam Darnold at quarterback — come into the Meadowlands and push around the home team.There are always reasons for optimism, even if those reasons have to come from within and are based more on hope than evidence.

The Giants have a scintillating rookie wide receiver in Malik Nabers and a proven new edge rusher in Brian Burns.They have Daboll for the first time as their play-caller on offense, and he is one of the best in the league in handling that responsibility.

There are the makings of some explosion in the passing game and the threat of disruption up front on defense with Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeau all lathered up and ready to roll.This is a franchise embarking on its 100th year of existence, with plenty of festivities scheduled early and often for this season, starting with the wild retro uniforms (red is the dominant color and there are stripes galore and — get this — khaki pants) worn by the Giants in the season opener.The script does not include a big, fat “L” to kick things off.“We’re ...