It’s been a long time since the New York Giants were really relevant in the grand scheme of the NFL.
The Giants are a flagship franchise and with a massive media market and a passionate fanbase, but they haven’t been in the conversation of playoff contenders for a decade or more. Swirling winds have always been a feature of the Meadowlands, but right now they seem to be winds of change.
The decision to bench Russell Wilson and start Jaxson Dart in Week 4, with the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers looming, was met with surprise and skepticism. Dart had an exciting and promising preseason, but he’s also a rookie from a wide-open and not terribly complex college offense. There was skepticism as to how effective Dart would be against sophisticated NFL defenses.
But rather than flounder, Dart looked every bit a future franchise quarterback after four games. He’s largely been poised and efficient, and while he hasn’t always made the correct decision, he’s rarely made bad decisions. At the same time, fourth-round rookie running back Cam Skattebo has emerged as a force in the Giants’ backfield.
The two rookies, each with a devil-may-care attitude, have brought an infectious energy to the Giants. The offense has averaged 29 points per game since the switch, and the defense has played hard and fast. It’s been anything but smooth and the Giants have had mistakes and collapses, but they’re exciting, interesting, and playing really competitive football for the first time in a long time.
They still aren’t likely to come away from the 2025 season with a winning record or be a real playoff contender, but they have the potential to be a team that nobody wants to play come December. Dart and Skattebo have lifted the Giants offense, to the point where they’ve averaged 26.25 points per game (assuming all extra points were converted) since Week 4. That would give the Giants the 8th-best scoring offense in the NFL if we extended it over the full season.
That’s a remarkable turnaround for a team that averaged 16.1 points per game last year and has fielded one of the least prolific offenses in the NFL over the previous three years. It’s even more remarkable considering the Giants lost WR Malik Nabers for the season just 25 snaps into Dart’s first start.
The fact that the Giants have fielded a dynamic and diverse offense without their best skill position player makes 2026 truly exciting. The combination of Dart with a dynamic receiver in Nabers and a punishing runner in Skattebo presents opposing teams with a true “pick your poison” decision.
That trio — Dart, Nabers, and Skattebo — could ignite the rest of the Giants’ young core of players. Recent additions like RB Tyrone Tracy, TE Theo Johnson, EDGE Abdul Carter, DL Darius Alexander, CB Dru Phillips, and S Tyler Nubin have the potential to be the young core of a consistent winner with a strong foundation on offense. The Giants certainly appear to have that now, particularly after scoring 5 touchdowns on one of the best scoring defenses in the NFL.
Adding Nabers back into the mix after a year of development for Dart and the rest of the youngest Giants has the potential to make the Giants a team that can consistently compete at the highest levels. It’s been a long time since we could say that about Big Blue, and it would be a joy to bring back that kind of confidence.
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