Jaxson Dart the best hope to give woeful NYC football season a spark

Jaxson Dart made it clear that he doesn’t want to be called the Giants’ savior. “That word or that phrase doesn’t really go in my head,” he said Wednesday in his first comments since being named their starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

But in a way, Dart has a chance to be the savior of the football present in the New York City area. The Giants have started 0-3 entering their game against the 3-0 Chargers on Sunday. The Jets haven’t won a game, either, ahead of their “Monday Night Football” matchup with the Dolphins. For all of the optimism and support and signs from the summer that both teams were trending in the right direction, playoff hopes have already become slim. Four consecutive losses to start a campaign would make them all but nonexistent, since only one team (the 1994 Chargers) reached the playoffs after hitting that low.

With Dart now at quarterback, though, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about the wins and losses for the Giants anymore in 2025. The most basic measurement of a successful season can fade into the background as the future of Dart inherits the stage. Success won’t be based on whether he wins four games, eight games or somewhere in between. Maybe it’s a quarter here or there that flashes his potential. A drive where he dazzles. A throw or a run that truly captures why the Giants drafted Dart No. 25 overall.

And with NYC-area teams still looking for that first win, it gives local football fans a dynamic reason to keep watching games.