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Giants News | New York Giants – Giants.com

Empire State Building lit up in Giants blue

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The Empire State Building is lit up in blue tonight in honor of the Giants home opener Sunday at MetLife Stadium. The Twitter account of the famed skyscraper posted the image Saturday evening.

This year commenced a new era of Giants football, helmed by general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll. The Giants traveled to Nashville last week for their opener, trailed by 13 points after a first half in which they failed to score and rallied for a 21-20 victory with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. Saquon Barkley totaled 194 yards from scrimmage to verify he's still one of the NFL's best running backs, the defense smothered two-time rushing champion Derrick Henry and optimism reigns.

Now, the Giants play three consecutive home games, a multi-week opportunity to prove to their fans the enthusiasm is warranted. The MetLife Stadium three-pack begins Sunday against the 0-1 Carolina Panthers.

"I understand how important the New York Football Giants are to a lot of people around here, and they're important to us," Daboll said. "I've come across a lot of great people in this community and had some really good conversations. And I'm looking forward to being on this sideline. Where it's always cool as a coach, you pull up to the parking lots, and you get a sense even before you go into the game of what kind of day the fans are going to have. And I love our fanbase. I love the support. They're on you when it's bad, and they're supporting you when it's good. And that's the way it is. That's this area.

"I grew up in western New York on the other side of it, but New York/New Jersey mentality. And I'm looking forward to having a packed house and them being as loud as they can be on third down or when Carolina's on offense. They're pretty smart fans up here, so the more we can get in there, the better it'll be. They're part of our team on home games, and I firmly believe that. Wherever I've been, the places that have great support like we do, you go into those places, and it's hard. It's hard to communicate as an offense when you're on the other side, and you get a lot of energy when you're playing special teams and on defense. And we've got to give them a reason to cheer, too. And that's why we're working the way that we're working and focused on what we

Coaches and players all but stood on Route 3 and handed out invitations to Giants fans this week, and they emphasized those who attend the game should not sit silently.

"I hope it's loud and having a great time," defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. "That's what I hope it is. That's what I expect the crowd to be like. I know this place loves defense, so we'll do our part. You guys do yours. That's the way I look at it, and it'll be fun. It should be when you come to the stadium."

"I need it to be loud in here, man," said defensive end Jihad Ward, a first year Giant whom the coaches selected as his unit's player of the game in Tennessee. ("That was unanimous," Martindale said.) "I need it to be loud and we need all the fans to show some love and support. Have some faith and believe. I just can't wait to go out there and see what the home atmosphere out here feels like. I don't know what happened in the past, I don't know the fan base, what happened last year, but I'm excited."

Daniel Jones, like most NFL quarterbacks, has heard boos in his home stadium. But he completed a career-high 81% of his passes against the Titans, including all three on the deciding drive.

Jones has also received his share of ovations in MetLife, in part because of his fearlessness when he tucks the ball under his arm and starts running.

"I'm excited to get in front of the fans back at MetLife," Jones said. "Looking forward to the energy and just feeling kind of the juice from them. We've talked a lot about winning at home, protecting home field and we're all excited to do that. So, I'm looking forward to getting out there."

The Giants' most recent home victory marked Jones' last action in 2021. On Nov. 28, he suffered a neck injury in a 13-7 triumph vs. Philadelphia. Jones missed the final six games, all losses, including contests in MetLife to NFC East foes Dallas and Washington in which the Giants scored 13 total points.

Jones is confident the faithful have put those bleak Sundays behind them.

"I expect a lot of energy, a lot of juice from the fans and for them to be riled up," he said. "And we're excited to get in front of them and play. Like I said, talked about defending our home turf, and that's what we're looking forward to doing. I think we all feel that in this locker room, and we're excited to get out in front of them."

The Giants have a chance to generate some momentum in the first quarter of the season. After Carolina, the Giants will host the Cowboys in a Monday night game and conclude the homestand against the Chicago Bears.

"I know we're talking about changing the culture and changing the culture defensively," Martindale said. "This is one of the biggest changes you'll see is this week to bring back great defense in this facility. I've only lived here for a short period of time, but I know New Yorkers are loud. We need to be loud in that stadium. They have to go on silent count. If you want to be part of changing this culture here with the Giants, be loud and have that place rocking where people don't want to come to our stadium. We'll take care of the rest, and we'll give you something to be loud about. But just be loud. I can't wait to see it."

He's not alone.

View rare photos of the history between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.

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