National Football League

Giants-Titans preview: Week 1 NFL guide, analysis, prediction

Published Sep. 8, 2022 7:20 p.m. ET

The first full Sunday of the 2022 NFL season features a cross-conference matchup between the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.

FOX Sports' staff of NFL writers has assembled a guide to every Week 1 contest. Be sure to check back throughout the coming season for weekly matchup analysis and game predictions.

New York Giants vs. Tennessee Titans (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)

Overview: If new Giants coach Brian Daboll wanted to get off to a fast start, this isn't the way to do it — on the road against last year's No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Titans might not be the AFC's best anymore, but they are still dangerous, especially while super back Derrick Henry is healthy. Yes, they have to find a way to replace No. 1 WR A.J. Brown, and losing pass-rusher Harold Landry (torn ACL) hurts. But there's still enough on defense to outmuscle opponents, and Henry is still virtually unstoppable. The Giants will get a boost from a healthy Saquon Barkley, but he's still running behind a questionable offensive line.

Matchup to watch: Titans RB Henry vs. the Giants' LBs

It's hard enough to stop this train at the line of scrimmage, but once he gets through, it could be ugly. After New York cut middle linebacker Blake Martinez, the Giants' linebackers are a patchwork group of young players, centered around former "Mr. Irrelevant" Tae Crowder. If OLB Azeez Ojulari misses the game along with rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, Henry could find a lot of room to run.

Key stat: The Titans are 25-3 when Henry has 100-plus rushing yards (22-3 in regular season, 3-0 in playoffs). Their formula is simple, and there's no reason to change it now, provided Henry is the same player he was before his injury. The Giants, who bring back mostly the same defense, gave up 129 rushing yards per game last season, including more than 150 yards six times and more than 200 yards three times.

Prediction: The Titans have some early issues to work out, but not nearly as many as the Giants, who don't even know who or what they are yet. They have too many new pieces and players coming off injury to expect the offense to click. Meanwhile, it's easy to expect Henry and the Titans to steamroll a Giants defense that hasn't improved coming off a bad year. The Giants also have a tradition of starting slow. They've lost five straight season openers and have won only one of their last 11. Titans 33, Giants 14 — Ralph Vacchiano