The New York Giants woke up from their Week 2 nightmare only to realize that they were never asleep. While Big Blue came away with its second win of the season in its Week 3 meeting with the Tennessee Titans, fans didn't come away all too excited.
Beyond the rocky performance from New York's offense, fans were concerned about Brian Burns' knee injury. The superstar edge rusher went down in the second half of the Giants' win. He was listed as questionable to return with a knee injury after walking off the field with assistance, but he never came back into the game. Burns had not recorded a tackle at that point in the game.
After the win, John Harbaugh seemed optimistic about the injury. Per Connor Hughes, "Harbaugh says 'there is some hope' there — potentially avoiding the worst case."
But after Harbaugh's early response to Jaxson Dart's injury, Giants fans know to wait for an official report before they feel any relief.
Brian Burns' knee injury could be devastating for Giants' season
Before reports broke that Dart was out for the regular season with his knee injury, Harbaugh was similarly optimistic. He told reporters that he thought that they had avoided a disastrous outcome, thinking that Dart had only suffered an MCL sprain.
Of course, the damage ended up being significantly worse than initially expected, ending the quarterback's second season early.
So, forgive us if we take Harbaugh's optimism about Burns' knee injury with a grain of salt. Burns will undergo MRI testing on Sunday night to confirm the state and severity of the injury.
If the edge rusher is out for an extended stretch, it could be devastating for the Giants' season. New York has already struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, producing just one sack through the first three games of the year. Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux are both starting-caliber players, but they haven't shown it this season.
If the team's most productive pass rusher is sidelined, the results could get even worse.
With an offense that will likely be severely limited without Dart, the defense will have to be a near-top-ten unit to give the Giants any chance of pushing for a playoff spot. If one of its best players is out for multiple weeks, or even the entire season, the possibility of a spot in the postseason will all but disappear.
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