It’s official. Russell Wilson is no longer the New York Giants’ starting quarterback. It’s three strikes, and he’s out. Head coach Brian Daboll is moving forward with preseason rookie sensation Jaxson Dart, who will look to turn Big Blue’s winless fortunes around in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s been a tale of ups and downs with Wilson under center. One game, he looks more lost than a deer in headlights — the next, he looks every bit the future Hall of Famer he’ll eventually be. That variability wasn’t going to be sustainable for a Giants team needing consistent results. He just didn’t have that vintage Russ look... he hasn’t for a while.
But there was no bigger indictment of his decline in play (and subsequent benching) than whatever complete mental collapse he had against the Kansas City Chiefs late in the fourth quarter of Week 3.
Russell Wilson's terrible Week 3 series against the Chiefs did him in
Give a little credit where it’s due — even though the 22-9 primetime loss was ugly, being down only 13 points with under four minutes left against Patrick Mahomes isn’t objectively a fireable offense. It was what he did in that situation (or lack thereof) that ultimately was.
In arguably the worst four-play sequence of all time, Russ just fell apart at the worst possible time, at home... in primetime for everyone to see. It was truly a series of unfortunate events even Lemony Snicket would feel uncomfortable writing about:
- First play: Intentional grounding penalty for throwing the ball into the locker room to avoid a sack
- Second play: Chooses to run a quarterback draw and gains four yards
- Third play: Russ throws a moonball through the back of the endzone
- Fourth (and final) play: Doesn't give his receivers any chance at making a play, and throws the ball into the crossbar
I wish I were making it up. Here is video proof (viewer discretion advised).
That’s impossible to come back from, no matter how you slice it. Not giving your playmakers a chance in the most crucial moments of a Sunday Night Football game at home is criminal. He has struggled with consistency this year, but fans will point to this series as the point of no return.
Wilson’s tenure as the Giants quarterback will go down as a blip on the radar. If there’s any silver lining, he did leave fans in awe with his 450-yard, three-touchdown performance against the hated Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.
However, his inconsistencies caught up with him in the worst way, and it's now onto figuring out what's next for the 36-year-old.