Jaxson Dart time? After dud vs. Chiefs, Giants might have seen enough of Russell Wilson

Giants fans made their opinion known Sunday night — and did it loudly.

They want to see Jaxson Dart replace Russell Wilson.

How long until they get their wish?

The Giants lost again Sunday, 22-9 to the Chiefs, on national TV. Wilson, their fading veteran quarterback, struggled for the second time in three weeks, as the Giants fell to 0-3 for the fourth time in nine seasons.

They’re now 9-28 since the start of 2023, 3-17 since last season began and 1-14 during their last 15 games, including a team-record 10-game skid. This is rock bottom.

Fans are ready for the future — Dart, their first-round rookie.

Is fourth-year hot-seat coach Brian Daboll ready to make the change? Maybe for next week’s home game against the Chargers? Or the following week’s trip to New Orleans, which is dreadful and would be a soft landing spot for Dart’s first start?

No matter how you slice it, Dart’s time is coming — as it should be.

Giants fans booed Wilson throughout Sunday’s home opener, during which he delivered a brutal stat line: 18-of-32 passing, 160 yards, two interceptions and a 43.8 quarterback rating.

These fans have no loyalty to Wilson. Nor should they.

The Giants entered Sunday’s fourth quarter down 16-6, as they badly needed more from their offense, which mostly looked sharp during last week’s loss to the Cowboys (albeit while going 1 of 5 in the red zone).

But they settled for a field goal with 10:12 left, after having first-and-10 at Kansas City’s 12-yard line. So they still needed a touchdown.

Instead, their defense — which had limited Patrick Mahomes and Co. — responded by allowing a touchdown that iced the game.

Late in the first half, after Wilson threw his second deep-ball interception of the night (this one into the end zone), fans began chanting for Dart, who debuted with three snaps last week in Dallas.

Dart didn’t play before halftime Sunday. When he entered for one snap in the third quarter (and ran a quarterback keeper for 3 yards), fans cheered. Wilson immediately re-entered — and they booed.

The same thing happened in the fourth quarter, when Dart got two straight snaps. The boos were even louder for Wilson’s re-entry that time.

Before halftime, Wilson completed 7 of 13 passes for 39 yards, those two picks and a 19.9 quarterback rating. The Giants’ offense managed one touchdown in the first half — and that’s it.

Things got even worse for Wilson in the second half.

Last year, the Giants were a debacle at home — and also on the road and even in Germany — as they went 1-8 at MetLife Stadium and angry fans hired planes to fly protest banners over the tailgate lots before games.

Though they were no plane banners Sunday, the Giants entered this game 0-2 for the 10th time in 13 years, with four of those including an 0-3 or worse start (2013, 2017, 2020 and 2021).

After last week’s crushing loss in Dallas, with this gauntlet of a schedule not getting any easier, they desperately needed an unexpected win against the suddenly, seemingly vulnerable Chiefs, who were 0-2 for the first time since 2014 and hadn’t opened 0-3 since 2011.

They didn’t get it.

And now, with left tackle Andrew Thomas back (and the Giants’ offensive line fully intact), the clock is ticking on Wilson.

Here are our other takeaways from Week 3:

• Malik Nabers’ involvement: The Giants’ top offensive weapon didn’t have his first catch (on his fourth target) until 14:40 remained in the game — on a short throw from Wilson that resulted in a 4-yard gain.

That’s not nearly enough involvement for Nabers, regardless of who plays quarterback. Would replacing Wilson with Dart somehow unlock more opportunities for Nabers? It’s hard to say it definitely would, if only because we don’t know how Dart will perform initially.

Nabers’ final stats Sunday: seven targets, two catches, 13 yards.

Yikes.

• What Andrew Thomas’ return meant (and didn’t): The Giants got their elite left tackle back from a 13-game absence (including this season’s first two games), due to last year’s foot surgery. Would that mean a fast start offensively Sunday?

Well, the Giants didn’t exactly light it up before halftime, as they gained just 114 yards (11 fewer than Kansas City) and Wilson threw two interceptions in a three-drive stretch, both on deep balls.

But they did put together an eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive late in the first half, to tie the game 6-6. They wound up trailing 9-6 at halftime.

That was the Giants’ first red-zone trip Sunday, on their fourth drive, and they cashed in, while doing little else offensively in the first half.

The Giants entered Sunday 31st in the NFL in red-zone offense — a reminder of how they finished 31st and 32nd in that important stat in 2023 and 2024. They cannot afford a repeat of that this year.

• Cam Skattebo’s opportunity: Running back Tyrone Tracy (shoulder) exited in the first half and was quickly ruled out. So for the foreseeable future, the backfield belongs to Skattebo, a fourth-round rookie.

A Tracy/Skattebo duo figured to have a reasonably equitable touch split. Considering how the Giants have phased out Devin Singletary since Tracy flashed as a fifth-round rookie last year, expect a Skattebo/Singletary tandem to mostly favor the new kid.

Skattebo’s final stat line Sunday: 10 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown, plus six catches for 61 yards.

Skattebo even celebrated his 13-yard touchdown run late in the first half with a back flip in the end zone.

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