EAST RUTHERFORD – It’s not all Russell Wilson’s fault.
He’s not the reason the Giants were out-schemed, out-coached, and out-played in Sunday night’s 22-9 loss to the Chiefs. He’s not why Joe Schoen’s draft classes are somehow aging worse than Dave Gettleman’s. He’s not solely responsible for this once-proud franchise devolving to one its own fanbase struggles to take seriously.
Not completely.
But Wilson also isn’t making anything better, or helping the situation. Certainly not on the field. So while he’s not entirely to blame, it’s time for the Giants to turn to Jaxson Dart.
“Not good enough,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the loss.
Start fast. You heard that all summer. It was the Giants' rallying cry. They watched their season end before opening their door to trick-or-treaters the last two years. This season had to be different.
Well, it’s not. The Giants are 0-3. NFL history gives them a miniscule chance of making the playoffs — only six at that mark have ever achieved it. Watch this team play a quarter, and your eyes won’t even them that good of odds.
And a major reason for that: The offense. The Giants were horrendous for the second time in three weeks. If you want to extend that further: This was the 14th time in the last 20 games that they failed to score 20 points.
Rookie running back Cam Skattebo (10 rushes for 60 yards and a touchdown, six catches for 61 yards) was good. Everything else was an abomination. Wilson completed 18 of 32 passes for 160 yards with two interceptions. The gameplan seemed to trickle down to this: Chuck it deep, check it down, take a sack.
“I think it was obviously disappointing,” said Wilson.
All-world receiver Malik Nabers saw just seven targets (tied lowest of his career). He caught just two passes for 13 yards (lowest marks of his career). Theo Johnson, whom the team spent all offseason touting as the next Rob Gronkowski, caught one pass for nine yards. He has six catches in three games. Darius Slayton was a non-factor (four catches for 30 yards). Wan’Dale Robinson caught one pass for 26 yards.
It was the most anemic the Giants offense looked since … their opener against the Commanders. Where the offense didn’t score and Wilson finished 17 of 37 for 168 yards. The Giants felt they’d broken through in their 40-37 loss to the Cowboys, but considering what the Dallas defense looked like against the putrid Bears (a 31-14 loss), maybe that’s the anomaly.
“Offensively, nothing was good enough,” said Daboll. “Coaching, playing. Didn’t do a good enough job. Everybody.”
Credit where it’s due: The defense was better. You’ll hear that anytime anyone associated with the Giants speaks this week. Shane Bowen, the maligned defensive coordinator after the disaster in Dallas a week ago, put together a winning game plan against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.
It didn’t matter, though, because this offense — no matter who seems to be calling the plays — is not one you can win with.
Something needs to change. That something is who lines up under center.
“There are highs and lows and always tough moments,” said Wilson, whom the MetLife Stadium crowd booed each time he came on the field. “You know, you have to have thick skin, you know what I mean?”
You can bench a guard. It won’t have a resounding impact. Same for 10 of the 11 positions on an offense. The one who can evoke a difference, a real difference, is a quarterback. And the Giants have one this organization (well, at least the coaching staff) is head-over-heels for.
Dart, the player Daboll slammed every table at 1925 Giants Drive for, impressed most in the building with his moxy, acumen, and on-field ability since arriving. He was good in training camp. He was stellar in the preseason (32 of 47, 372 yards, three touchdowns, another rushing).
He’s ready enough that the Giants named him their backup quarterback. They’ve given him a package of plays the last two weeks to go out and play. The moment, at no point, has looked too big.
Dart is ready. The Giants, because they predetermined in their minds that Wilson is their starter, haven’t been. They want to follow the Mahomes Plan, the Aaron Rodgers Plan. Sit, develop, then play. But Alex Smith isn’t in front of Dart. That’s not Brett Favre.
Wilson might one day have a gold jacket. But the 36-year-old collecting paychecks from John Mara is not the one who earned that honor because of his heroics in Seattle. He’ll have a flash of who he used to be (450 yards, three touchdowns against the Cowboys), but far more often, he’ll be this guy.
Pray that a moon ball hits. Check it down the moment there’s any pressure. He’s not elevating the play of anyone around him. So while the Giants hoped he’d allow them to compete this year, save jobs, and ready Dart for the future, at 0-3, it’s clear that’s not happening.
So, stop waiting.
“Jaxson is progressing well,” said Daboll. “We’ll continue to work with him. I have a lot of confidence in him, his development that he’s had.”
This wasn’t a normal crowd at MetLife Stadium. Chiefs faithful packed the stands with red. “Chiefs” was bellowed at the end of the national anthem, much like at Arrowhead Stadium. It was alarming but not surprising, considering that the Giants have the worst record in the NFL since 2017 (40-94-1).
At one point, though, the Giants fans who were there had enough. They started a chant of their own: “We Want Dart.”
Dart said after the game he didn’t hear it. It wasn’t clear if his nose grew after uttering those words. It didn’t matter. The fans are right. They shouldn’t wait any longer.
The Giants tried the Wilson experiment. It didn’t work.
Go to the rookie.
It’s time to start Dart.
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