The New York Giants are heading into Week 1 with a chip on their shoulder—and a little bit of an identity crisis. When the Giants face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football to open the 2024 season, one of their biggest stars is talking revenge for a game he wasn't even on the field for.

Star pass rusher Brian Burns, who signed a massive $141 million contract after being traded from the Carolina Panthers this offseason, is already fired up. "40-0, you know we're gonna hear a lot about that leading up to this one," Burns said. "Damn sure I'm gonna want to redeem it this time around."

Here's the twist: Burns wasn't wearing Giants blue for that infamous 2023 opener. While Dallas was putting up a 40-0 shutout on New York's home turf, Burns was in Carolina, losing to the Atlanta Falcons. It's an odd flex—seeking redemption for a humiliation you didn't experience firsthand. But in the NFL, rivalries run deep, and Burns is already embracing the Giants-Cowboys blood feud as his own.

The 40-0 loss wasn't just a bad day at the office; it was a season-defining gut punch for a Giants team that had big expectations. Coming off a playoff win for the first time in 11 years, with Coach of the Year Brian Daboll at the helm and Daniel Jones fresh off a $160 million contract extension, New York was supposed to be on the rise. Instead, the Cowboys crushed their momentum in one brutal night. Since then, the Giants have gone just 13-38, and the echoes of that blowout still haunt the locker room.

To make matters worse, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott hasn't lost a legitimate start against the Giants since his rookie season. Over the last nine years, the Cowboys have owned this rivalry, and Burns himself has felt that sting—he's won just one of his last two matchups against them.

So while Burns may not have been in the building for the 40-0 beatdown, he's fully bought into the revenge narrative. For a team trying to rebuild its pride, that kind of fire might be exactly what the Giants need. Whether it translates to a Week 1 win? That's a different story. But one thing's for sure: Brian Burns is ready to make a statement—and he's bringing a $141 million grudge with him.