The Giants’ path forward without Jaxson Dart is clear enough on paper: lean on the run, keep things simple, and let the ground game carry the load. The trouble is that plan comes with a built-in flaw, and it sits right in the middle of the offensive line.
Dart was knocked out for the rest of the season after a knee injury seven snaps into Week 2, a brutal blow for a team that had been riding a wave of hope in John Harbaugh’s first year as head coach. Harbaugh built this offense to be physical and run-heavy, so the loss of the quarterback doesn’t force a total redesign. But it does change how defenses can play New York, and that’s where the problem starts.
Without Dart, opponents have far less reason to respect the passing game. That means more bodies near the line of scrimmage, more resistance in the box, and a much tougher road for a Giants attack that wants to live between the tackles. And if that’s the direction they’re going, the interior offensive line has to hold up far better than it has so far.
That’s a concern because this backfield is built for downhill football. Cam Skattebo, Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Devin Singletary can all get outside when needed, but Harbaugh wants a north-south approach, and his top two backs are the kind who are supposed to hit the hole and keep moving forward. If the interior blockers can’t create space, the whole plan gets squeezed.
The early returns haven’t exactly eased those worries. New York is averaging 118.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks 11th in the league, so there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet. But the issues showed up against Tennessee, when Skattebo needed 20 carries to grind out just 60 yards.
The bigger frustration is that the problems with center John Michael Schmitz and guard Jon Runyan are nothing new. This has been an issue for a while, and the Giants’ choice to bring both back this season now looks even harder to explain. With Dart gone, those weaknesses are no longer background noise - they’re becoming central to the offense’s survival.
Jameis Winston hasn’t done much to make life easier for anyone, either. Since Dart went down, Winston has completed 51% of his passes for 229 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception across essentially two games. That kind of production gives defenses even more incentive to crowd the line and dare New York to throw.
The Giants added a wrinkle on Monday, trading a 2027 fifth-round pick for former top-10 pick J.J. McCarthy.
His mobility and athleticism at least give the team another option if Winston keeps struggling. Still, Harbaugh has already said the 32-year-old will start in Week 4 against Arizona.
So for now, whether it’s Winston or eventually McCarthy, the Giants are still going to run through Skattebo and the ground game. The only question is whether the interior line can finally do its part.
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For New York, the move leaves the receiver room leaner and a little more defined, with only three wideouts now on the 53-man roster. Beckham is expected to look elsewhere rather than land on the Giants practice squad, so this now becomes one more roster reset for a team still sorting out how it wants to piece together its passing game moving forward. [Read more 🡒]