WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OFFENSE
The news of the week was the quarterback change to rookie Jaxson Dart, the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Russell Wilson, who made his 200th, 201st and 202nd career starts this season, served as the backup.
Dart became the fourth rookie quarterback selected in the first round to start for the Giants in the common draft era (Phil Simms in 1979, Eli Manning in 2004, Daniel Jones in 2019). According to NFL Research, the Ole Miss product is also the first quarterback since Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 to be drafted in the second half of the first round and start a game within the first four weeks of his rookie season.
Overall, Dart completed 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown while being sacked five times.
Dart’s first play as a starter was a handoff to fellow rookie Cam Skattebo for a five-yard gain. His first pass attempt was for Malik Nabers down left sideline, where Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still was called for a 14-yard pass interference penalty. After another run by Skattebo, Dart’s first completion was a seven-yard gain to Nabers, who didn’t have a catch until the fourth quarter against the Chiefs.
Dart, who had played just six snaps entering Sunday, capped his inaugural drive (nine plays, 89 yards, 4:17 time of possession) with a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Giants an early 7-0 lead.
Dart completed his first four passes for 38 yards.
Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter against the Chiefs, was ruled out on the final injury report of the week.
Skattebo again led the Giants on the ground with 25 carries (his previous high was 11) for 79 yards.
Nabers suffered a knee injury with 6:12 left in the second quarter while attempting to catch a deep pass from Dart on a free play due to defensive offsides. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Nabers had two catches for 20 yards on three targets to that point.
Wilson entered the game at quarterback with 11:52 left in the third quarter after Dart, who was also dealing with a hamstring injury, entered concussion protocol. The rookie was cleared after Wilson played two snaps – a sack with a fumble that he recovered and an eight-yard completion to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
Following a momentum-stealing interception by cornerback Dru Phillips (more on that later), Dart recorded his first passing touchdown on a shovel pass to tight end Theo Johnson, who spun into the end zone from three yards out. The Chargers were called for unnecessary roughness in the aftermath and the Giants lined up for a two-point conversion attempt, which Skattebo ran into the end zone. The Giants extended their lead to 21-10 with 2:49 left in the third quarter.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas started for the second consecutive week and played the entirety of the game this time. Earlier in the week, Brian Daboll said Thomas was “in a good spot” after playing 28 snaps in his first game in more than 11 months.
The Giants scored touchdowns on two of their five trips to the red zone. They had a success rate of only 20 percent entering Week 4.
The Giants had a turnover on downs in the red zone with 5:35 left in a game, which they led by three points at the time. On fourth-and-goal from the 4, Dart’s pass intended for Robinson in the back of the end zone fell incomplete.
The Giants dominated the time of possession 35:28 to 24:22.
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