Kayvon Thibodeaux just gift-wrapped bulletin board material for Commanders in Week 2

The New York Giants were utterly hapless in their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. As former backup Sam Darnold tore through the New York defense like Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking a wet napkin, the Giants offense mustered a grand total of six points. Zero touchdowns. Decidedly not great, Bob.

This week can only get worse for New York. Okay, fine, that's not true. But an injury report including Malik Nabers' name has fans dangerously low on the Giants' chances. It's only Week 2, surely there has to be a light at the end of this long, grim tunnel. But, on the other hand, it's only Week 2, and the Giants have another 16 weeks of football on the docket.

Between Daniel Jones, the patchwork offensive line, and a defense that can't quite live up to the sum of its parts, there's not much to be positive about in the Giants fandom. If there's any repreive, it arrives in the fact that New York has a winnable rivalry game coming up this Sunday. New York will travel to the DC area to face the Washington Commanders, who were similarly hapless in their season opener (a 37-20 loss to the Buccaneers).

The Giants have a chance to win a game and stem the tide of negativity coursing through the fandom. What they cannot afford to do, however, is hand free motivation to the opponent. Naturally, that is exactly what defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux did from the New York locker room.

Giants DE Kayvon Thibodeaux says Commanders are 'not really a rival'

Credit to Thibodeaux for speaking his mind, but this is classic bulletin-board material for a hungry, equally (or more) desperate Commanders squad. This is 'How to Handle the Media 101' stuff. The air of superiority does not quite compute when your team isn't competitive. It's one thing to talk boldly as a frontrunner, as a contender. When you're the New York Football Giants? It's best to keep the, er, humble approach.

This isn't all that egregious of a statement on the surface. Thibodeaux goes on to complement Jayden Daniels and speak about the quality of past games. And, to his credit, the Giants went 2-0 against the Comms last season. New York has experience when it comes to toppling this Washington team.

Still, the divisional nature of this rivalry, which Thibodeaux outlines, is precisely why it is, in fact, a rivalry. 'We play them in close, competitive games all the time and they're in our division, which adds a different layer to the matchup.' Yeah, dude, that's called a rivalry. I'm paraphrasing, of course.

New York's defense was completely ill-prepared for the Vikings offense a week ago. Washington has a less established unit and a more mistake-prone QB, but it's not wise to get your hopes too high when it comes to this Giants squad. Thibodeaux, who did not record a single tackle or sack this past Sunday, is particularly bound to prove himself before future declarations about who does and doesn't qualify as a rival.