If you're wondering why the kitchen is empty, it's because Russ isn't allowed to cook anymore. The New York Giants have benched Russell Wilson after just three games, and they skipped over Jameis Winston to hand the reins over to rookie Jaxson Dart instead for this week's game against the Los Angeles Chargers. One way or another, this will be the defining moment of Brian Daboll's tenure as the team's head coach.
Daboll is 18-35-1 in his 3+ years with Big Blue, and that includes this year's 0-3 start. That's about as much leeway as a guy can expect to get in an impatient league, so if things don't turn around very soon, there's going to be a new job listing on the MetLife Stadium careers page. The quick hook on Russ and the pivot to Dart shows that he knows how desperate the situation is.
People aren't known for making smart moves in desperation, but I'm here to argue that Daboll had no other choice than to pin his future to a 22-year-old out of Ole Miss. Here's why.
Russell Wilson is past his expiration date
Two things can be true — Russell Wilson has had a great career, but he's no longer a winning player.
The Giants are Russ' third shot at redemption since Seattle traded him. He disappointed so badly in Denver that the Broncos' acquisition of him has been labeled as one of the worst trades of the decade. Then he landed in Pittsburgh, where he led the Steelers to a 6-5 record and a Wild Card Round loss to the hated Ravens in which the offense was shut out in the first half. On a Mike Tomlin-coached team, that's the definition of replacement-level.
Wins are overrated as a quarterback stat, but a 17-27 record since leaving the Seahawks is a big enough sample size that we can definitively say that Russ no longer has it. He turned back the clock a bit by throwing for 450 yards against the Cowboys in Week 2, a game that in all fairness he should have won, but he also threw a back-breaking interception in overtime that all but ended the game. The stat sheet looked good, but there will be many more quarterbacks that feast against the Cowboys secondary than those that don't this year.
In the Giants' other two games, against the Commanders and Chiefs, they've scored a grand total of one touchdown. That score came on a drive in which Cam Skattebo put the team on his back while Russ was only 2-3 for 20 yards. The Giants just can't move the ball with the status quo, so a change was necessary.
Jameis Winston isn't the answer
It probably should go without saying, but I know there are some Jameis Winston truthers out there, so here goes anyway. Jameis is not the kind of player who is going to help a head coach keep his job.
Jameis has started 17 games in the past five years combined. In his last 22 appearances, he's thrown 19 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, while also fumbling eight times. Even during his best years early in his career, he was known as the ultimate roller coaster ride, a guy just as likely to sling a deep touchdown as he was to throw a pick-six.
Daboll can't afford that kind of erratic play at this point. He needs not only someone who can do the job now, he has to show that there's a plan in place for the future, too. Even if Jameis came in and got a few wins while connecting on some bombs, there's nobody that honestly believes he could be the long-term answer.
Daniel Jones has accelerated Daboll's timeline with his stellar play
There are over 600 miles that separate Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, from MetLife Stadium. NFL teams are so obsessed with their own operations that you wouldn't think anything happening in the AFC South could have any bearing on the Giants' decision-making process, but in this case, you'd be wrong.
Daniel Jones is kicking ass and taking names, and it's making Brian Daboll look bad. Daboll coached Danny Dimes for three years in New York, and by the end of it, the conclusion was reached that Jones just wasn't ever going to be a true franchise quarterback. Since he's linked up with Shane Steichen in Indy, though, Jones has stolen Anthony Richardson's job and jump-started the Colts to an undefeated record while making offensive history in the process.
There's no getting around it, this is a terrible look for Daboll, especially as the Giants have floundered to a winless record in the same timeframe. The Colts have punted one single time in three games, becoming the first team since at least 1940 to do so. Jones is averaging 272 yards through the air per game, and he hasn't fumbled or thrown an interception yet.
This feels like that moment in the romcom when the dumped girl gets a makeover and makes the guy regret his stupid decision. Daboll can cry himself to sleep each night while eating a carton of ice cream, or he can clean himself up and get back on the dating scene. Dart is the rebound, and he needs to make it work.
Jaxson Dart sure looked like he could be the guy in preseason play
We all know by now that preseason is the ultimate fool's gold. Many players have lit up the scoreboard in August only to be exposed when going against first-string defenses and defensive coordinators hell-bent on their destruction, but there's reason to believe that with Dart, things will be different.
For one thing, not only did Dart show an impressive arm in throwing for 372 yards, three touchdowns and no picks, he also showed excellent mobility out of the pocket. The Giants teased his running ability by putting him in for a couple of designed runs on Sunday night, but now that he's the starter, he'll have a chance to really make things happen with his athleticism.
Even before Dart had played a preseason snap, the buzz in training camp was that the Giants had gotten a steal when they took him with the 25th overall pick. Dart impressed the coaching staff, his teammates and the team's beat reporters throughout camp, and it never felt like the kind of hollow praise that teams do to make themselves feel better about their pick. Daboll inherited Danny Dimes, but he hand-picked Dart. That matters, too.
Ironically, it's similar to what happened in Seattle during Russell Wilson's rookie year, when he won the job over free agent signee Matt Flynn despite being just a third-round pick. Sometimes you just know, and Pete Carroll and the Seahawks were rewarded for taking such a bold step.
Daboll is much more desperate now than Carroll was then, but that doesn't mean he's making a mistake by handing the job over to Dart. The alternatives are uninspiring at best, and Dart has already shown the potential to be something special. If you sit still when the seat gets hot, you're gonna get burned. Whatever happens going forward, Daboll is doing the right thing by putting his trust in the rookie.