Seven wins. That's the Giants' full record over the last two seasons combined, and it's the number hanging over everything as they host Dallas to open a new one. Less than a day after that stat started making the rounds again, it's the frame for this whole game: not a fresh start, but a team that has to prove one is even possible.
A home opener is supposed to be the easy one, the crowd behind you, the slate clean. For the Giants it's the opposite. Lose this and the NFC East conversation starts without them before Week 2 even kicks off. The Cowboys don't have to say a word about it. They just have to walk into MetLife and let the math do the talking.
Dallas comes in favored, and nobody's shocked by that. What's actually in question is whether the Giants can turn a desperate building block into a real answer on the field, right when the walls are closest. Cowboys or Giants to win it outright?