Jaxson Dart was not close to perfect in his first NFL start last Sunday, but the rookie quarterback was effective enough to beat the Chargers because the Giants played good complementary football for the first time this season.
When you don’t turn the ball over and you turn two takeaways into 10 points, that’s a recipe for success.
For the Giants, a big part of that equation is being able to unleash their vaunted pass rush.
The Big Four of Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter lined up on the field at the same time together more, with Carter playing more on the edge in particular, and they combined for 27 pressures and 12 quarterback hits.
“We feed off each other,” Carter said after the game. “Whoever is hot, whoever is bringing the energy, we all try to feed off that and keep bringing the energy all together.”
It was no coincidence that the dominance up front coincided with Dart’s first start. Yes, the Chargers’ offensive line was banged up. But Dart energized the team with his presence and his fast start, leading a touchdown drive on the Giants’ first possession and immediately putting the Chargers in a situation where they were behind and needed to throw the ball more.
“I think that the confidence that he carries himself with and just the swagger he has is contagious,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “With him in the huddle, it was a completely different type of energy, and that’s nothing against Russell (Wilson). Every quarterback is different. But the way he carries himself and the determination he runs with and the detail he plays with is huge. It just makes you want to run through a brick wall for him.”
Expect that mojo to continue this Sunday when the Giants face the winless Saints in New Orleans.
This will probably be the Giants’ easiest opponent all season, and it’s a juicy matchup to control the game and apply pressure with stunts along the defensive front. The Saints will be without injured right guard Cesar Ruiz and have two young tackles, plus an inexperienced quarterback in Spencer Rattler who is 0-10 in his career as a starter.
“Each week you go through and decide how you want to play the game in terms of what packages you want to use. There’s some flexibility there,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Those guys (on our defense) like to rush the passer and run off the edge, but you can’t just rush them all the time. You have to drop (into coverage), you have to know your drops, your technique on that stuff when you are dropping. It’s not just, ‘Throw them all in there and they can just do this.’ I would give them a lot of credit for their flexibility in terms of their mental part of the game.”
One area of concern remains the run defense, which is why starting fast on offense has been supremely important.
The Giants are tied with the Bears for the most yards allowed per rush (6.1). They’ve yielded five runs of at least 20 runs and two runs of at least 40 yards (including a 54-yard touchdown run by the Chargers).
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said eliminating those big plays, namely through shedding blocks and “changing the math a little bit more up front, where it’s not one for one,” is a major emphasis. The Saints feature a talented running back duo with Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller.
“It’s going to be a big challenge this week … two really good backs,” Bowen said. “We’re going to have to be locked and loaded. It’s going to take all 11. We’re going to have to be able to get off blocks and swarm and get these guys on the ground.”
Fans should be skeptical until the Giants prove otherwise since they really haven’t been able to consistently stop the run at any point in Daboll’s four seasons under two different defensive coordinators.
But the best way to compensate for that weakness is to give your defense a lead and let it harass the quarterback. The Giants, at least for now, have some momentum in that regard and have a solid chance to improve to 2-3 on Sunday.
“Obviously, it’s a better feeling walking out each week to a win. I feel like that was good for the locker room and for the guys (last week),” Dart said. “But at the same time, it was just one game. We’ve got a long season, and that’s just kind of how I view it. Don’t make it anything bigger than what it is. It was just one game, and our mindset has to be to win every game that we play.”
Greg Johnson covers the New York Giants and NFL for MediaNews Group. Reach him at gjohnson@trentonian.com.
Giants Gameday
The Game: Giants (1-3) at Saints (0-4), Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, La., Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
The Line: New Orleans by 2
History: The Giants lead the all-time series, 17-16, but the Saints won the two most recent meetings in 2023 and 2024.
Key Matchups:
Giants LT Andrew Thomas vs. Saints DE Carl Granderson: The Giants’ All-Pro returned to playing a full workload in Week 4 and now faces a player who is having a breakout season. Granderson already has 4.5 sacks (second in the NFL) and five QB hits.
Giants WR Darius Slayton/Wan’Dale Robinson vs. Saints CB Quincy Riley: The Giants need Slayton and Robinson to step up even more in the wake of Malik Nabers’ season-ending injury. The Saints have allowed the third-most 40+ yard passes (four) and are starting Riley this week as a backup behind the injured Isaac Yiadom.
Giants OLB Abdul Carter vs. Saints LT Kelvin Banks: It’s a battle of top-10 picks as the Giants selected Carter third and the Saints took Banks ninth in this year’s draft. Carter is coming off a tremendous five-QB hit game against the Chargers and should have the advantage in this matchup.
Giants CB Paulson Adebo vs. Saints WR Chris Olave: Adebo goes up against his former team and will be tasked with containing New Orleans’ top receiver. But the Saints’ passing attack hasn’t been particularly effective as a whole, and Olave has just 185 yards with one touchdown through four games.
Injury Report:
Giants: DOUBTFUL: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. (shoulder), DL Dexter Lawrence (illness), S Tyler Nubin (groin), LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (hamstring).
Saints: OUT: C/G Cesar Ruiz (ankle), DE Chase Young (calf), WR Trey Palmer (ankle), CB Isaac Yiadom (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: TE Juwan Johnson (ankle), T/G Trevor Penning (ankle), OL Dillon Radunz (toe), QB Tayson Hill (knee), TE Foster Moreau (knee), DT John Ridgeway III (shoulder).
Giant Facts: Jaxson Dart’s 15-yard TD run vs. the Chargers was the longest rushing TD by a Giants rookie QB since Phil Simms in 1979. … Brian Burns is tied with the Rams’ Byron Young for the most sacks (5.0) in the NFL. … Jude McAtamney, a Rutgers product, replaced the injured Graham Gano as the team’s kicker last week and converted an extra point, a 22-yard field goal and a 31-yard field goal. He is now 2-for-2 on extra points and 3-for-3 on field goals in two career games.
The Prediction: Giants 23, Saints 20
