ARLINGTON, Tex. – Russell Wilson silenced the calls for Jaxson Dart to replace him as the Giants’ starting quarterback with an explosive and clutch performance for most of Sunday’s track meet with the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
But then Wilson panicked and coughed up a disgusting interception in overtime to Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson, handing Dallas a 46-yard Brandon Aubrey walk-off field goal in a 40-37 Giant loss.
Brian Daboll snuck Dart into the game anyway for a few snaps in the rookie’s NFL debut.
And the Giants fell to 0-2 for the seventh time in the last nine seasons, 0-8 in their last eight NFC East games and 0-7 in Brian Daboll’s and Joe Schoen’s seven meetings with the Cowboys as Giants coach and GM.
Wilson threw for 450 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He threw a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Wan’Dale Robinson for a 30-27 lead with 2:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Then he launched a 48-yard go-ahead bomb to Malik Nabers for a 37-34 lead with 25 seconds to play in regulation.
But the game still went to overtime due to a Dak Prescott touchdown pass to George Pickens with 52 seconds in regulation and a 64-yard Aubrey field goal as time expired.
The Giants now must return home to host the reigning AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs at Metlife Stadium in a Sunday Night Football home opener in Week 3.
They’ll do so with excitement about Wilson’s performance but also the disappointment of another defeat — and more undertones of Dart’s inclusion in the offense.
Daboll dialed up a Dart run fake and handoff to Cam Skattebo in the fourth quarter, setting up a go-ahead Skattebo touchdown, even though Wilson and the offense were surging most of the day.
The Giants organization spent the better part of this week doing damage control on the optics of a budding quarterback controversy.
Daboll had given life to the possibility of Dart replacing Wilson imminently after the team’s 21-6 Week 1 loss at Washington when he hesitated to commit to Wilson as his Week 2 starter.
Someone from the Giants, likely above Daboll, put a different message through an ESPN report on Saturday: that there is “no sense of urgency” in the organization to bench Wilson for Dart.
Dart ended up playing three total snaps in Sunday’s game to get his feet wet. He handed the ball off twice and carried once for minus-three yards when he slipped.
Corner Dru Phillips intercepted Prescott in the first quarter for the Giants’ first takeaway of the year on defense. But Wilson and the offense turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive, and Dallas moved the ball with ease in the later part of the game.
The Giants led the Cowboys, 13-10, at halftime on a 29-yard Wilson touchdown pass to Malik Nabers and two Graham Gano field goals.
Wilson completed 17 of 20 passes for 235 yards and the TD in the first half alone. That’s the most passing yards for a Giants quarterback in a first half since Eli Manning seven years ago.
He especially had success attacking the seams and a Cowboys secondary without injured starter DaRon Bland (foot) and with Trevon Diggs playing less than 100%.
Slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson led the Giants with 98 yards in the first half, including a 50-yard reception down the middle of the field on the game’s opening drive.
Starting left tackle James Hudson III’s lack of composure limited the Giants to a field goal on that possession when he committed four penalties in a span of six plays.
A lack of discipline was a theme, in fact. The Giants had nine penalties accepted against them in the first half for the first time in 25 years, according to FOX Sports.
And by the start of the fourth quarter, their 145 penalty yards against them were the most since a 2014 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
But once rookie Marcus Mbow replaced Hudson, the offense was doing less to beat themselves.
Rookie Cam Skattebo got more playing time at running back. The Giants held the ball for 22 of the first 25 plays from scrimmage.
And Shane Bowen’s defense was a step ahead of Schottenheimer’s offense for almost the entire first half, until Dak Prescott found KaVontae Turpin for a 10-yard TD pass with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter to draw within 13-10.
