The Surprising Game When the Giants' 2025 Season Unraveled

After a disappointing 0-3 start to the 2025 season, the New York Giants had a major decision to make: Stay the course with their veteran quarterback, Russell Wilson, who had not played well outside of their Week 2 overtime loss to Dallas, or make a change at quarterback to rookie Jaxson Dart, one that would inject excitement into the fanbase and locker room.

They decided to go with Dart, and there was an immediate return on their decision to go all in with their rookie signal caller. The Giants defeated the LA Chargers in week four, 21-18.

This should have been the start of a win streak, but instead it was halted by an offensive implosion that led to a loss and eventually doubt about what this team as a whole was fully capable of.

The Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints was the game that marked the unraveling of the Giants' 2025 season.

Killed Momentum

The win against a far healthier Chargers team than the one that finished the second half of the season and still made the playoffs was telling. It essentially meant that the Giants were capable of beating anyone in the league.

They proved it once again in Week 6 with a shocking upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, another playoff squad this season. So what was really lost in the Week 5 meltdown against the Saints was an opportunity to turn hope into belief into confidence in a matter of three weeks.

If the Giants had followed up that Chargers win with a win over the Saints, the fanbase would have been completely energized, and even the players would have likely believed a little more in their abilities.

The Eagles' victory following those two wins would have been epic; the entire state would have caught Big Blue fever.

The expectations would have been higher, the buy-in much greater, and the attitudes in the facility would have been encouraging in hopes of raising the level of all involved with the organization.

Their confidence would be through the roof, and there's no way they would relinquish such a big lead against the eventual AFC top seed in the playoffs, the Broncos, the next week.

Imagine being 4-3 heading into Philly. Even if the Giants lost that game at .500, they would have still felt good about their chances this season.

Receiver Doubt

With Malik Nabers out, the Giants really needed someone who could step up and replace him in the lineup. They needed a receiver who could provide consistent production on the outside.

Jaxson Dart only threw for 111 yards in their win over the Chargers, so the natural response from New Orleans would have been to find out if he was willing to throw it more often.

Tight ends Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger caught 10 of their combined 11 targets. Receiver Wan'Dale Robinson added his normal contribution.

This was a game for receivers Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt to emerge as legitimate options on the outside.

Hyatt was a no-show. He received three targets and was unable to haul in any of those passes, including one that ended up intercepted.

He continued to be invisible throughout the remainder of the season, almost assuring himself that he would not be on the 2026 roster.

Slayton tried to make plays, but he fumbled, likely keeping points off the board for the offense and putting the defense in a difficult position.

Dart, meanwhile, lost faith in his receivers and started feeding passes to Skattebo.

Lack of Resilience

A game like this is where a team wants to show its resiliency. They want to prove they can overcome obstacles and show they can chase down a deficit.

Most importantly, they want to show that they will not fold in the face of adversity.

The Giants had the perfect opportunity to prove all of that in this game. Even up 14-3, everything went bad.

It had a snowball effect on the team. The defense did not hold the offense down; they gave up an 87-yard touchdown pass that tied the score.

After the Slayton fumble, the defense could not stop the Saints and let them take the lead before halftime; a potential four-point lead turned into a two-point deficit.

Out of the half, Dart fumbled, and the defense couldn't keep them off the board, yielding another field goal.

Then it was Skattebo's fumble when they were about to punch it in, a 14-point swing.

The Dart interception on the Hyatt pass was next, and then the horrible Dart interception intended for Beaux Collins on their next possession followed.

It was an embarrassing loss because the team never showed the ability to stop the bleeding.

Once it went bad, it stayed bad. That remained the case for the rest of the season. An inability to even things out when they went poorly.