The belief that the New York Giants would change their quarterback this season seemed inevitable since April. When an NFL team trades up in the draft to select a quarterback in the first round, it often signals an upcoming change at the position.
The switch happened in Week 4 amid unfavorable circumstances. The Giants, who hadn’t won any games and were struggling, faced the unbeaten 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers, who were emerging as Super Bowl contenders.
In a game in which each team suffered a significant loss, it was Dart who gave the Giants two things they had been lacking most the season.
A win, plus some hope.
Beginning with a touchdown on their opening drive, highlighted by a planned run by Dart — marking the Giants’ first touchdown in the first quarter this season — New York emerged victorious, beating the Chargers 21-18 in Dart’s inaugural start.
Dart threw for 111 yards with a touchdown but faced five sacks. He also ran for 54 yards. At one point, he was checked for a concussion but managed to return to play.
Just a week after fans at home expressed their discontent with starting quarterback Russell Wilson during a loss to Kansas City, Dart won their cheers by escaping tackles during a fourth-quarter quarterback sneak, converting what seemed like a failed effort into a first down.
Giants coach Brian Daboll, whose firing some fans had called for after the 0-3 start, pulled Dart in for an embrace at the final whistle.
“Happy we got him,” Daboll said.
While New York may have addressed its quarterback concerns, a new issue arose with their wide receivers when star Malik Nabers left the game. Reports suggest he may have torn his ACL after his knee gave way when he jumped for a pass in the second quarter. Nabers had caught two passes for 20 yards before his exit.
The Chargers (3-1) could also face a longer-term absence. Offensive lineman Joe Alt, a first-round pick in 2024, was carted off with an ankle injury in the first quarter. The team’s Super Bowl ambitions hinge on the production of quarterback Justin Herbert, but playing behind a patchwork offensive line that already lost one starter, Rashawn Slater, to injury in the preseason — an injury that shifted Alt to left tackle — Herbert had been blitzed 39 times, second-most in the league, through Week 3 and faced the sixth-most pressures.
The hits Herbert took Sunday were “very concerning,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Alt’s injury also comes on the heels of other injuries that have depleted the team’s depth cart, including running back Najee Harris.
