Shocked about Giants’ 4-1 start? They’re not: ‘We’ve been for real since Day 1, man’

LONDON — Last year, the Giants won four games, as they spiraled to a 4-13 disaster and coach Joe Judge got fired.

Already this year, well before Halloween, the Giants have won four games. They’re 4-1 after Sunday’s massive comeback win over the Packers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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But guess what? They’re not surprised.

“We’ve got a lot of good players — and it showed today,” safety Xavier McKinney said after the 27-22 win. “We knew what we had before. We didn’t really need anybody to tell us what we had or didn’t have.”

Said outside linebacker Oshane Ximines: “We’ve been for real since Day 1, man.”

OK, but it’s one thing for the Giants to think they were for real — even if nobody else did. And it’s another thing to prove it.

“For sure,” McKinney said. “And we’re proving it.”

They did it in a big way Sunday, by beating future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in front of a roaring, pro-Packers crowd in north London.

They did it by overcoming a 17-3 second-quarter deficit (their second-biggest comeback win since 2013), by out-gaining the Packers 198 yards to 102 in the second half (after being out-gained 199 to 140 in the first half), and by scoring touchdowns on drives of 91 and 60 yards in the final 10:08.

It was altogether remarkable, resilient — and absolutely for real.

These Giants aren’t ready yet to start dreaming about an NFC East title. But they know one thing for sure: They have moved past those lowly, outside preseason expectations. Not that they ever cared about them in the first place.

“I don’t give a damn what they said,” McKinney said of everyone who doubted the Giants, entering an expected rebuilding year. “I’m not going to lie. I don’t care. We knew what our mission was. We knew what we wanted to be as a team. I think we’re still growing, but I think we’re on a good track to be there.”

Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux is an emotional rookie, but even he was playing it cool after Sunday’s win, when asked what this all meant. He called the Packers — who were supposed to be one of the NFL’s best teams — “just another football team.” And he didn’t gloat or really even rejoice.

Why so even-keeled?

“Because we won, and this is what we do,” he said. “Like, what, I’m supposed to be jumping around excited because we just won another football game? We’re professionals.”

Across the locker room, as the Giants prepared for their celebratory trans-Atlantic flight home, left tackle Andrew Thomas let himself feel proud about what had just happened, as these Giants showed they might just be a contender after all.

“I think our mentality is that we’re for real every time we step on the field,” he said. “I know people may not believe [that], but the mentality to do anything great, you have to believe.”

So how great can this team be?

“That’s to be determined,” he said. “I think we’re working in the right direction.”

With the Ravens, Jaguars, and Seahawks coming up before their Week 9 bye, the Giants certainly have more shots at wins — though they have to play Jacksonville and Seattle on the road.

But at least for Sunday night — with darkness falling over north London and the roars of Packers fans long since silenced — the Giants relished how they were able to come back against Rodgers and then polish off a win on defense.

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Ximines, who during training camp seemed on his way to being cut, sacked Rodgers to end the game — an enormous moment for Ximines showing he’s maybe a lot better than everyone thought.

It’s an ethos that resonates in this Giants locker room.

“We showed a whole lot of resiliency,” Ximines said. “If something is not going our way, we don’t point fingers. We’re just ready to work.”

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.

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