On paper, this is a laughable mismatch.
The winless Giants (0-5) will meet the Broncos in a nationally televised Sunday night game in Denver being as many as a 13-point underdog. They have seven players ruled out for the contest band because of injuries could have eight if Landon Collins doesn’t play.
The Broncos, entering the game 3-1, had a bye last week and are fresh and ready to go.
Not only do the Giants look like a MASH unit physically, but they also are dealing with psychological blows from their apparent dysfunctional secondary. This certainly doesn’t look like a pretty outcome.
In many ways, though, it can be the first of several new wrinkles over the next 12 weeks. It can be one that can spurn a new youth movement for the team.
Believe it or not, there still can be some positives down the road. Look no further than Evan Engram and Wayne Gallman as well as a few others.
The team has looked to the duo with high aspirations notably Engram at the beginning of the season and Gallman in recent weeks.
This can be the first page turned in many yet to come.
Engram was labeled a hybrid tight end, having the speed to be lined up in a flanker spot as well as a traditional one. Through five games, he quietly has caught 34 passes for 200 yards. He has been overshadowed by the hype surrounding Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall.
With Beckham Jr. and Marshall not seeing action again until 2018, and Sterling Shepard out this week, Engram can steal the spotlight. He will surely be targeted, but her will have the chance to prove his top draft pick status. We have seen glimpses, but we need the full show.
Gallman, the fourth-round pick, reportedly has all the tools coming out of Clemson. He was a second-half star during the preseason, and was subjected to the same duty during the opening weeks of the season.
But he emerged during the Tampa Bay game, and formed a productive tandem last week with Orleans Darkwa last week against Los Angeles. Darkwa, who was limited due to cramping, ran for 69 yards on 11 carries while Gallman had 57 on 11 carries.
If they can produce a similar or better night in Denver, the Giants have their solution to their inept ground game.
Among their depleted receiving corps, Roger Lewis and recently returned rookie free agent Travis Rudolph, whose lunch story with a student enhanced his profile, should get a good look. Defensively, rookie defensive tackle Dalvin Thompson has started slowly, but he hopefully will make his mark.
Over the next few months, the wins may be difficult to accumulate and a top pick to help the offensive line may be in the waiting. Or do the Eli Manning to Jacksonville rumors have any substance and could Sam Darnold or any of the other future quarterback messiahs be wearing blue instead of green next season?
The present could be laughable, but the future could hold a bigger smile.