The LA Chargers and New York Giants couldn't be in more opposite situations heading into their Week 4 matchup. One team is 3-0 with newfound hope for a Super Bowl run, the other is 0-3 with absolutely no idea what's coming next.
It's desperation time in New York as Brian Daboll's seat will only get warmer with each passing loss. With a tough Chargers team on the docket and the season slowly slipping away, Daboll and the Giants may finally make a move that fans have been clamoring for.
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who the Giants took with the No. 25 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, could make his first-career NFL start against the Bolts. Daboll left the door open for a quarterback change, saying that the team is evaluating everything at the QB position.
Giants couldn't pick a worse time to start Jaxson Dart than against the Chargers
Usually it's a good idea to give a rookie quarterback a soft landing in their first NFL game, especially when you kept them from starting the year in favor of a veteran. That is not what the Giants would be doing if Dart starts against the Chargers.
Jesse Minter's defensive unit is one of the meanest in football. Not only are the Chargers very talented on the defensive side of the ball, but Minter is already one of the best defensive minds in the sport. Minter throws stunt packages at the best of the best and keeps them off their A-Game. It's going to be compounded immensely against a rookie quarterback.
To be fair, the Chargers are going to have defensive success either way. New York probably has a better chane of winning with Dart under center. But is it really worth risking his development to have a marginally better chance of winning? That is what New York has to decide.
This is what happens when you entrust in Russ to lead the team. This was always going to be the outcome and anyone who has watched Wilson the last four years knows that. Wilson was eventually going to play his way out of the job, forcing the Giants to start Dart at an inopportune time.
It would be one thing if the Giants were a team on the up-and-up with a new head coach who had some job security. Daboll is someone who is coaching for his job, so taking the "wait and see" approach with one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the sport is certainly a bad strategy.
The Chargers' defense is going to eat Dart alive if he starts in Week 4. New York would be far better off just delaying it a week so Dart can debut against the New Orleans Saints. After all, Brandon Staley is the Saints' defensive coordinator, and we all know how easy it is to go up against a Staley-led defense.
But because of desperation, the Giants could take a miscalculated risk that has larger implications than just the Week 4 outcome.