Big Blue View
We’re now fully into scoreboard watching season for New York Giants fans. No, not to keep track of playoff possibilities, but to monitor the team’s fragile perch atop the Tankathon rankings for the 2026 No. 1 draft pick. The latter is sure to be Fernando Mendoza after Indiana dispatched Ohio State and Mendoza won the Heisman. Furthermore, unless Dante Moore goes nuclear in the CFB playoffs, Mendoza will probably be seen as the only quarterback worth trading up to No. 1 for. Unfortunately, the Giants faced stiff competition from the equally pathetic two-win Raiders and Titans, not to mention the three-win Browns, Saints, Jets, Cardinals,… and Washington Commanders, whom the Giants faced today. You could cut the tension with a snow shovel at MetLife for this meeting of two disappointing teams who’d love nothing more right now than a haul of high 2026/2027 picks.
What did we learn from the Giants’ 29-21 loss to the Commanders? Well, we learned that the No. 1 pick is still in play. But what else?
I thought that Mike Kafka got off to a good start as Giants head coach even though he lost his first two games. The firing of Brian Daboll was triggered by Dart’s concussion in Chicago, which precipitated another fourth-quarter collapse by the Giants. Kafka thus got to call his first two games with Jameis Winston at quarterback, and the Giants’ offense played well in both of them, especially in Detroit, almost defeating two possible playoff teams.
Dart then returned for the New England game, and though he didn’t play poorly, he didn’t play well, either. It was understandable against the Patriots, who have one of the NFL’s better defenses this season. The Commanders, though, have one of the worst defenses, particularly in pass coverage. Today, Dart did tone down the ball carrying heroics except for a designed run at the 1-yard line that did nothing but generate another visit to the blue tent. Maybe this is Dart’s kryptonite. For whatever reason, the Giants’ passing offense has looked inept for extended stretches in the past two games.
Part of this is Dart’s own fault. In particular today, he was overthrowing receivers on intermediate and deep routes, except for a beautiful deep pass to the end zone that Darius Slayton couldn’t hold onto. Still, though, the offense seems more conservative since Dart returned. Obviously it doesn’t help that Dart doesn’t have a WR1 to throw to and that Cam Skattebo has been out since the second Philadelphia game, but I thought Dart still looked better vs. the 49ers and Bears than he has since. The Giants’ final “drive,” after the Abdul Carter fumble recovery, was the icing on the cake. The Giants had the ball at the Commanders’ 49 with a chance to tie, and they could only move the ball to the 36 against a bad defense.
You know what else doesn’t help? Calling running plays on second-and-10 when you have an...
