Russell Wilson will start at quarterback for the New York Giants in their second game of the season Sunday at Dallas, coach Brian Daboll said, keeping the veteran in the role after a lackluster performance in the opener rather than turning to rookie Jaxson Dart.
Daboll made the announcement of Wilson remaining the starter on a video call with reporters Monday less than 24 hours after not committing to the 36-year-old getting the nod again.
“I have confidence in Russ, and we’re doing everything we can
each week to develop Jaxson,” Daboll said.
Wilson was 17 of 37 for 168 yards in a 21-6 loss to Washington. The Giants did not score a touchdown in Week 1 for a third consecutive year.
“I’d say he made good decisions,” Daboll said. “The 1-on-1 matchups: sometimes it’s a throw, sometimes it’s a contested catch. It’s a collective (effort). It’s not just Russ. It’s the entire offense — everybody. It starts with me, coaches, players. We’ve got to do a better job collectively. ”
Dart, a first-round pick whom the organization hopes is the future at the position, dressed as Wilson's backup ahead of Jameis Winston but is still awaiting making his NFL debut.
Receiver Darius Slayton said he and his teammates have full confidence in Wilson and disagrees with the outside noise calling for Dart to play.
“That’s the natural thing these days in the sport of football, which is unfortunate at all levels of football — even at the college level, the pro level — is that everybody wants new, as soon as they think that things aren’t going well,” Slayton said.
“This league is tough, and you see players get chewed up and spit out all the time by this league, which is something that I would never want to happen to him. ... (Wilson is) going to play good ball, we’re going to play good ball as an offense and whenever Jaxson’s time comes, it comes.”
The pass rush that is supposed to be the Giants' strength was effective. Brian Burns had two of the three sacks on Jayden Daniels, while fellow edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter split the other.
One game in to adding Carter, the third pick in the draft, he was not on the field at the same time as Burns and Thibodeaux. Carter also got a handful of snaps on special teams, making a difference there by deflecting a punt.
“You want to rotate those guys, try to keep them as fresh as you can,” Daboll said. “We knew that Abdul was going to be on that punt team. Just trying to keep those guys as fresh as we can with the packages that we have.”
Even with that, New York allowed the Commanders to pile up 432 yards, with 220 of them coming on the ground. Daniels was responsible for much of that, and rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries.
“Just a defense, when you’re not playing as well as you want to, it can definitely be frustrating,” cornerback Paulson Adebo said. “But that’s all those things that we’ll look at and improve.”
Adebo made a strong first impression after the Giants signed him to lock down opposing receivers. Rather than play just one side, Adebo followed Terry McLaurin, who had just two catches on four targets for 27 yards.
“I thought he played well,” Daboll said. “Terry’s a really good player, an explosive offense, but that’s something we’ve been working on, as well. I thought he did a nice job throughout the entire game.”
Evan Neal's fall from being the seventh pick in the 2022 draft as an offensive tackle took another drop. After getting moved inside and going into training camp competing for the starting right guard job with Greg Van Roten, Neal was inactive against Washington. Daboll said the staff felt comfortable with the other linemen in uniform.
Daboll said linebacker Micah McFadden, who was carted off the field midway through the first quarter, did not break his right leg after that was the initial concern. Daboll foreshadowed having more information later this week on McFadden's status.
1 — Other teams in NFL history before the Giants who didn't score a touchdown in the season opener three years in a row: the Detroit Lions from 1940-42. Green Bay from 2005-07 and the Chicago Cardinals from 1954-56 also failed to score one on offense, but their defense got into the end zone.
The Giants opened as 6-point underdogs for their game at the Cowboys on BetMGM Sportsbook. Dallas has some extra rest time coming off losing 24-20 at reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia on Thursday night.
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