The New York Giants got their first win of the 2025 season, and rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart got the first win of his career, with a 21-18 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The Giants thought they were going to get their first win of the season against the Dallas Cowboys after Russell Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter. Instead, they left just enough time for Dallas to tie the game and eventually win in overtime.
That, however, didn’t happen as the Giants
were able to run out the clock against the Chargers.
“I was just waiting for it to hit zero,” Dart said after the win. “Obviously that Dallas game, in my mind I thought we were going to have that one. So I was just staring at the clock and just waiting for it to count down. But Jon Runyan was right next to me, and that was a cool moment to have with him. And, yeah, it was just special to get the first one.”
The Giants’ win was set up by a big throw and catch from Dart to second year tight end Theo Johnson to convert a crucial third down just before the two-minute warning.
Dart says that the play was an adjustment he and Johnson made based on their tape study during the week.
“That one was really cool because it was something that we discussed,” he said. “Kind of a change-up, an adjustment on the route. He [Johnson] was really just supposed to keep running all the way through. And I told him, just from like film prep and stuff, you see that middle open, just sit it down for me. So it was kind of just like a cool moment to see that happen in a big situation like that.”
Dart added that he wasn’t surprised that the Giants trusted him with a pass in that high-leverage situation.
“I wasn’t [surprised] because I wanted the ball in my hand,” he said. “When I think back on the game, obviously I haven’t watched the tape, but there’s mistakes that I made that I want back in the passing game, and I want to be cleaner. So I was grateful that they did have the confidence in me to move the ball there.
“And I just knew in that situation, the guys out there were going to make the play.”
Dart was asked how much it meant to him to help deliver a victory after head coach Brian Daboll inserted him into the lineup.
“Me and Dabs just have a special relationship,” Dart added. “He’s the guy that believed in me from day one. And I think it does say a lot that he made the decision, had the confidence in me, and even just giving me the ball in those situations on a third down to make a play. So, I think that when you have a coach who has your back, I’m going to go out there and do everything I can for him to win.”
Daboll said after the game that Dart’s performance “wasn’t perfect” but also that he “didn’t expect it to be.” He credited Dart for making good decisions, converting first downs, and making the “right” choices.
Dart agreed that there’s certainly room for improvement going forward as the Giants’ starter. He also acknowledged that the Chargers’ defense took away things that the Giants wanted to do in the passing game — namely attack the deep part of the field.
“I’d like to be a little bit more efficient in the passing game, creating a few more explosive plays,” Dart said. “But they [the Chargers] had a really good plan for us, so you’ve got to give them a ton of credit. And they played really good defense these past three weeks, and we knew that coming into this game. The vertical passing game down the field just really wasn’t there because of how they played. They’re very disciplined, so we were able to take some things underneath. And when things look a little sticky in coverage, just try to make some plays with my legs.”
Dart threw for 111 yards in his first start, but it was the running game that carried the Giants to victory, with Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary combining for 161 yards on the ground.
Skattebo carried the ball 25 times for 79 yards — 79 tough yards. The rookie running back’s love of contact wasn’t overstated, and in that he and Dart have a similar mentality.
“I just think that we play very similar,” Dart said. “Like, mentality-wise, I mean, you’d be smarter in open field taking some hits and whatnot. But when you have a guy like that who just kind of brings the juice every single day and gives it his all, the guys around him want to play harder.
And then off the field, we just have a really cool connection.”
Dart gave credit to the Giants’ defense for holding the Chargers to just 18 points, limiting how much the Giants’ own offense had to do in order to win.
“I thought our defense carried us through this game,” Dart said. “But our defense, our offensive line, played at a really elite level. And as a quarterback, when there’s pressure like that [the pressure the Giants put on Justin Herbert] and there’s guys always in the backfield, no matter who you are the game just speeds up.”
“They [the Chargers] have a really good team out there and played really good. So our D-line knew that they had to be playing at a dominant level for us to win. And just, really credit to those guys for stepping up and making a lot of plays.”
Of course the black mark on an otherwise-great afternoon was the injury to Malik Nabers. While the Giants haven’t given us any updates (as of this writing), it’s feared that he tore his ACL attempting to make a catch down the sideline.
“We don’t really know exactly what happened, so he’s going to be one of my first phone calls to check on him,” Dart said.
“But Malik is, I’ve said it, Malik’s one of one,” he added. “So when you have a guy like that on the field, you have all the confidence in the world that he can just be a dominant game changer. But I thought from that moment obviously it’s really hard seeing one of your best friends go down. But we were able to rally, and I thought guys made some good plays. Obviously just prayers to him.
“Obviously it hurts, because the worst part of this game is the injuries. So you hate to see your teammate, your brother, go down in pain like that. But, I’m just going to be praying for him. I got his back through it all.”
