By winning the Super Bowl, the Giants earned the right to host the season-debut game tonight against the Washington Redskins, allowing their fans one more chance to celebrate their championship.

For many, the Giants haven’t received the credit they deserved following their thrilling run to a title.

“All I’ve been hearing about is the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Jets, the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville, and San Diego,” NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said yesterday on a national conference call with the press. “I just can’t remember a time when a Super Bowl champion has sort of gotten less respect going into a season than the New York Giants.”

Perhaps that is because of the team’s turnover: having Michael Strahan retire, witnessing Jeremy Shockey talk his way into a trade, and watching Osi Umenyiora go down with a season-ending injury during the preseason. Or perhaps it’s because the Giants struggled to find an identity for much of the season, not playing their best ball until the chips were on the line.

Another factor has been the team’s home performance. The Giants were 3-5 at the Meadowlands this past season (including a late-season 22-10 loss to the Redskins where the Giants appeared to hit bottom) and 3-5 in 2006 as well.

But everything starts over tonight, when the Giants turn the page on both the good and bad of last season.

“We have been telling them since day one that we are certainly not apologizing for anything last year,” head coach Tom Coughlin said. “Of course, our road run was a great one. We hope we can go ahead and utilize that again and be that successful on the road. But we have to play better at home. Quite frankly, our fans deserve us to play better at home.”

WHEN THE GIANTS HAVE THE BALL The offense that did what it needed to do to win games down the stretch is back almost in the same form. QB Eli Manning showed he can avoid costly mistakes, lead pressure drives, and read defenses during a four-game road playoff gauntlet. He also had one of the best interception ratios of his career during that stretch.

The Redskins have had success rattling Manning a few times the past few seasons, but they are more likely to rush four more often and blitz less in this game, despite the likely absence of defensive end Jason Taylor, who is listed as doubtful with a knee injury. Taylor’s likely replacement, Demetric Evans, is more of a run stopper, so he and fellow end Andre Carter likely will be more worried about the ground game.

The Giants kept five true running backs on the 53-man roster and are likely to use at least three in some kind of rotation against the Redskins, who should remain tough to run against (ranking fourth in yards per game allowed last season). And with Shockey gone, the linebackers will be less worried about getting beat up the seam, even if replacement tight end Kevin Boss has shown playmaking ability against single coverage.

If Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw, and company can keep the Redskins’ defense on the field and make them commit to stopping the run, Manning should be in a good position to make plays, especially if the Redskins man up outside or leave a single-high safety, which they often do with LaRon Landry (who is expected back after missing the preseason with a hamstring injury).

Plaxico Burress clearly is the big-play guy among the Giants’ receivers, and he has a recent history of beating Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers, who has made a miraculous recovery from a torn ACL and is expected to start. Look for the Giants to test Rogers early with at least one shot down the field.

WHEN THE REDSKINS HAVE THE BALL Quarterback Jason Campbell has had a full education of the West Coast offense since the hiring of head coach Jim Zorn, The learning process is ongoing, and part of the Redskins’ failures to date have been others’ faults, too. The offensive line has struggled in the preseason at times, and the two Redskins’ prized rookie receivers — Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly — have been slowed by injuries and could be nonfactors in this game. Kelly is listed as doubtful following knee surgery, and Thomas is expected to be the no. 4 receiver.

The big change up front has been the insertion of Stephon Heyer at right tackle ahead of longtime anchor Jon Jansen. Heyer’s job for most of the night will be to keep Justin Tuck out of Campbell’s face, and though Heyer held Strahan out of the sack column in the Week 15 win in New York, this is a different challenge. Heyer struggled three weeks later in the playoff loss to the Seahawks, unable to contain Seattle defensive end Patrick Kerney, and Tuck’s quickness and countermoves could pose similar problems.

Expect the Redskins to use a heavy dose of running plays with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts, plus the short passing game. Portis had a 125-yard game in the win over the Giants and has said that the wider running lanes of the West Coast system mimic the splits he used to see in Denver’s zone-blocking scheme his first two seasons, which are still his best.

It will be a busy night for Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, who not only must adjust to two new starters (Gerris Wilkinson and Danny Clark) on either side of him, but also must contend with a strong Redskins running game and the presence of tight end Chris Cooley. Although Cooley hasn’t had many big games against the Giants in his career, he is sure to be active in this contest, especially in the middle of the field, where he does his best work.

Campbell has lost both of his career starts against the Giants, but he has thrown only one interception to three touchdowns in those games. He must be accurate and sure with his short throws so that the Giants pinch down, which could open up a big-play opportunity for either Santana Moss or Antwaan Randle El deep.

PREDICTION It will be all smiles tonight, even if some of the Giants’ faces are different. After a slow start, look for the Giants to exploit the Redskins’ lack of healthy playmakers in a solid, season-opening win, 24-10. Of course, as the Giants well know, it’s not how you start, but how you finish — the season, that is.

Mr. Edholm, a senior editor at Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at eedholm@pfwmedia.com.