It wasn't the prettiest debut for Jaxson Dart, but the New York Giants still managed to come away with the W. Against a stout Los Angeles Chargers' defense, the first-round rookie barely surpassed 100 passing yards, but shined on the opening drive and came through when needed to propel the G-Men to a stunning upset for their first victory of 2025.
Week 4 saw the Ole Miss product complete 13-of-20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, while also recording 10 carries for 54 yards and another score. It's been evident for an extraordinarily long time that Dart has plenty of moxie, but the win saw him take a more modest approach by appreciating the mentorship of 13-year veteran Russell Wilson:
"I want to give a big shoutout to Russ, I know this week probably wasn't the easiest thing but he handled it like a professional."
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 28, 2025
- Jaxson Dart pic.twitter.com/2qYszhc4rD
Aside from injuries, Sunday marked the first real time in his NFL career that Wilson didn't see the field as a starter. While he did still see a few snaps when Dart briefly exited the game due to a hamstring injury, this marked his first real opportunity as an NFL backup, which takes some getting used to.
Even as a backup, Russell Wilson is the ultimate teammate
Regardless of whether or not he's QB1, the 10-time Pro Bowler is one of the most beloved players in Big Blue's locker room. Many expected him to start for a longer period of time, but when Brian Daboll found himself on the hot seat, he knew what he had to do to save his job.
Wilson easily could have thrown a fit by requesting a trade or release, or even forcing his way out of New York like other players do, but the 36-year-old has expressed a desire to stay in the Big Apple in order to help Dart thrive.
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Even as a backup, his approach remains unchanged, and he's been committed to doing whatever he can to help the team win games.
Wilson still isn't the first legendary veteran to to play a mentorship role for the Giants. Kurt Warner helped mentor Eli Manning, Manning provided guidance to Daniel Jones, and now he's continuing the lineage with the 22-year-old.
Just because the Wisconsin product is content doesn't mean that teams won't come calling. After Jake Browning's dismal performance on Monday Night Football or Lamar Jackson's injury, both the Ravens and Bengals could look to call Joe Schoen about trading for the future Hall-of-Famer.
Daboll has been adamant that Dart will remain the starter for the rest of the season, but one of Wilson or Jameis Winston won't be Giants for much longer. Despite losing Malik Nabers, his debut set the stage for what looks to be a promising career in New York that injected life into a fanbase in desperate need of it—and the mentorship of a former world-class QB certainly helped.