Good morning, New York Giants fans!
On a scale of 1-10, how badly does this team need to win in Week 4? 4 — The decision to start Dart this week to some degree resets the clock on the panic meter. A loss to the Chargers would be quite understandable in a rookie quarterback’s debut (to the Saints in Week 5 would be a different story). But every successive loss certainly means something because of the heat on Daboll and Schoen. The quarterback change would buy them a reprieve of a couple of weeks, but then they’ll need to show some results.
Charlie Weis: Dart is a “bring it on” type of guy
With so much focus on the Giants’ inconsistent offense, the defense is actually ranked lower, having allowed touchdowns on eight of 10 red zone drives (plus an end-of-half field goal by Kansas City on one of the other two drives). Getting to 0-3 has been a team effort.
The switch from Russell Wilson to rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart at quarterback entering Week 4 resets the clock on this season. Dart will surely have ups and downs. The Giants might not start winning with any regularity. They will be different, with at least a chance for greater upside at the most important position.
Harbaugh and the Chargers were 4-0 against rookie quarterbacks during the 2024 season. They beat Bo Nix and the Broncos twice and also picked up wins over Drake Maye’s Patriots and Spencer Rattler’s Saints. The two games against the Broncos were both one-score finals, but the Patriots and Saints got blown out. The Chargers, who are favored in Sunday’s road game, also covered the spread in all four games.
In addition to trying to buck the trend of rookie quarterbacks against Harbaugh’s Chargers, Dart will be trying to become the sixth quarterback to beat an undefeated team with at least three wins in their NFL debut. Per ESPN, Phil Simms (1979), Frank Reich (1989), Brett Favre (1992), Jeff Garcia (1999), and Marc Bulger (2002) are the others to accomplish that feat.
In New York, the Jaxson Dart era kicks off this week. The rookie brings a vertical element to the Giants’ offense after leading the FBS with 17 touchdown passes and 1,517 yards on throws of 20-plus air yards last season at Ole Miss.
But Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka did not find ways to get Nabers the ball in last Sunday’s 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Kafka admitted Thursday that the Giants’ coaching staff has to create a “better plan” to prioritize and find Nabers. But what exactly should that look like?
“I got a couple of routes to get the ball,” Nabers said. “Things always happen, whether it’s the line, whether it’s the defensive scheme. They did a great job of keeping me in front of them. The safeties did a great job. Corners did a great job of forcing to their leverage. They just did a great job of overall the defensive scheme to limit me. I had a couple of great routes. It’s a lot of plays that I wish I could get back just to help my quarterback. But [I] had a pretty good route tree, just didn’t live up to the plan.”
Daboll and the rookie backfield
Cam Skattebo was told NFL scouts predicted this perceived flaw in his game would hold him back.
“Everybody said I couldn’t pass protect, that was the big question mark next to my name,” the New York Giants rookie running said. “Scouts said it. I heard it. My coach at Arizona State, Coach [Kenny] Dillingham, sat me down and said, ‘This is what they’re saying – pass protection, pass protection, pass protection.’”
Twelve of Andrew Thomas’ 28 snaps were in pass protection, where the 26-year-old did not allow a single pressure. But he made his presence felt in the run game. The Giants finished the game with 130 total rushing yards against the Chiefs, with 86 of those yards coming before Thomas left the game. While he’s been limited in practice to start the week, Daboll told the media that the left tackle came out of his first game action feeling good.
Seahawks got: DL Leonard Williams Giants got: 2024 second-round pick (S Tyler Nubin) and 2025 fifth-round pick (OT Marcus Mbow)
The Giants eventually used some of those savings to trade for and extend Brian Burns, which was probably a better use of their resources given the presence of Dexter Lawrence II at tackle. Nubin was one of the few bright spots for an otherwise-frustrating Giants defense as a rookie in 2024. Mbow has been forced into duty as a left tackle this season with painful results.
Kicker Younghoe Koo on his return to North Jersey
Stephen A. Smith argued that if Manning is eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame, then current Giants backup quarterback Russell Wilson will need to get in, too.
“That is wild. That is the wildest thing ever,” Chris Canty said. “Holy reach, Batman! You take away his playoff runs, and he did nothing? I’m sorry, the whole point of the exercise is to win a Super Bowl, and Eli Manning gives you a chance when you get in the tournament. What is he talking about? Is Stephen A. Smith high? Is he on the weed? What is he doing?”
There are currently bookings for two planes towing protest banners to fly over MetLife Stadium before the 0-3 Giants face the 3-0 Chargers on Sunday with a third plane is tentatively scheduled. One of the banners is scheduled to read: “MR MARA ENOUGH IS ENOUGH CLEAN HOUSE” although that has not yet been officially locked in. The planes will fly over MetLife Stadium between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
It’s impossible to analyze the Chargers’ 3-0 start without focusing on Justin Herbert, the shining star of Los Angeles’ thrilling first month of football. Herbert made an incredible play in a key moment during the Week 3 comeback win when he broke out of a sack, escaped a collapsing pocket, rolled left and swiveled his body just enough to rip a throw through contact to a tightly covered Keenan Allen for a touchdown in the game’s final three minutes. Herbert is playing some of the best football of any quarterback on the planet. Those who forgot how special he is have undoubtedly been reminded of it.
“Super talented guy, first round pick for a reason, great college career,” Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said of Dart. “He played in a very versatile offense in college, I think Lane Kiffin does a great job with quarterbacks. He’s run a lot of concepts. He’s run tempo, he’s run pro-style, he’s kind of run everything. Then he gets there, you look at his preseason success, he moved the team pretty much every time he was in there. It’s a great challenge.”
Derwin James continues to anchor the Chargers’ defense with his versatility and range. He leads all defensive backs with 14 defensive stops — tied for the third-most among all players this season — and has lined up at multiple positions to create impact plays across the field.
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