There are suddenly reasons to believe in the Giants

The Giants were dead, and you hadn’t even cracked open your first game-day beverage yet.The bean dip was still wrapped, the Frito bag still sealed.

It wasn’t even a quarter after one yet, and you might’ve thought about scouring the other games on TV, maybe checked out the Liberty-Dream playoff game, or Braves-Marlins on MLB Network.On the opening kickoff, the Giants Eric Gray had fumbled the ball away.On the Browns’ first play from scrimmage, Deshaun Watson had connected with Amari Cooper for a 24-yard touchdown.

On the Giants’ fifth play from scrimmage Daniel Jones threw the ball right to Cleveland’s Ronnie Hickman, again at the Giants 24.“Oh look! A ‘Matrix’ marathon on AMC! I’m in!”And that’s when a funny thing happened.There was a flag on the field.The crowd of 68,616, who’d done nothing but scream themselves silly so far at Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field, went silent.

Greg Newsome’s hand had connected with Daniel Jones’ helmet.In 1964, that might’ve only amped the din to preposterous levels.In 2024, it’s 15 yards.And in the moment — in that instant — it wasn’t just the football game that flipped upside down, but also the way we might have to look at these Giants.

They scored a touchdown 7 ½ minutes later, Devin Singletary bulling over from the 1.Jones hooked up with rookie wunderkind Malik Nabers twice before halftime for a 21-7 lead.They hung on to win 21-15.

There were some terrifying moments along the way.None of them mattered as they walked off the field.“We showed a lot of resiliency,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said.

“Particularly how it started.But the guys competed, kept competing, and I’m proud of them.”Suddenly, they weren’t a social media punching bag anymore (even if they gave most of their fans acid indigestion until the very last minutes of the fourth quarter).If the first few minutes inspired any #LOLGiants memes, they were quickly deleted.

What followed across the final 54 minutes a...