Giants turn to Jaxson Dart as starter, becoming latest team unwilling to wait to see rookie QB

As soon as the New York Giants put in the card to draft Jaxson Dart with he 25th overall pick in April the time was ticking for when he would take over as starter.

Even though New York had signed Russell Wilson in free agency and quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love thrived after sitting most or all of their rookie seasons, the days of patience with highly-drafted quarterbacks are mostly in the past.

Dart joins fellow rookie and No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as starting QBs before the end of September of their rookie seasons with Ward beginning the season as the starter in Tennessee.

More than two-thirds of all quarterbacks drafted in the first round since the start of the rookie wage scale in 2011 started their first game within the first four weeks of their NFL careers. Twenty-two of the 49 rookie QBs started in Week 1, with 11 more taking over the role within the next three weeks.

Seven more made their first starts in the first half of their rookie seasons, with six — including Mahomes — waiting until near the end of their first seasons. Love was one of three first-round quarterbacks since 2011 who waited until year two to make their first starts.

The 47 first-round quarterbacks from 2011-24 averaged 10.8 starts as rookies, posting a .395 winning percentage and an 82.8 passer rating, compared to a league average of 89.3 in that span.

First-round QBs from the start of the common draft era in 1967 through 2010, averaged only 5.1 starts as rookies with many needing to serve as apprentices before taking over as starters.

Tampa Bay and San Francisco are two of the six teams — the most since 2020 — off to 3-0 starts this season, but it hasn't been easy.

The Buccaneers have scored the winning points with 59 seconds, 6 seconds and 0 seconds remaining on the game clock this season, becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to record a winning score in the final minute of regulation of the first three games. Tampa Bay has a point differential of plus-6.

In fact, only two teams since the 1970 merger have done it three games in a row at any point of a season with Pittsburgh pulling it off in 2017 and the New York Giants in 1994.

The 49ers haven't been as dramatic getting to 3-0 but have outscored the opposition by only 10 points, including a 16-15 win on a last-second field goal against Arizona on Sunday.

Pulling out three straight nail-biters to open a season is great for the record but it doesn’t always bode well for the future.

Eight other teams have started 3-0 with point differential of plus-10 or lower with Tampa Bay's plus-6 tied for the lowest with Tennessee in 2020 and Washington in 2005.

The Titans lost in the wild-card round that year with Washington getting knocked out in the divisional round. Three of the other six — Jacksonville in 2004, New England in 1999 and Cleveland in 1979 — missed the playoffs entirely.

Chicago in 1991 and Buffalo in 1998 lost in the wild-card round and only one team made it as far as the conference championship. The Raiders in 1976 won the Super Bowl.

Philadelphia would have been in that group if not for a blocked field goal return for a touchdown by Jordan Davis on the final play of a 33-26 win over the Rams that increased the point differential for the undefeated Eagles from plus-8 to plus-14.

The Los Angeles Chargers are putting a stranglehold on the AFC West race.

The Chargers beat Denver 23-20 on Sunday to complete a sweep through the first round of division games after already toppling Kansas City in the opener and Las Vegas in Week 2.

The Chargers were the 77th team since the merger to open a season with three straight games against division foes and just the 12th to sweep those games. The last team to do it had been Chicago in 2006 on the way to a Super Bowl appearance.

Five of the previous 11 teams to do it ended up reaching the Super Bowl with Dallas winning it all in the 1992 season and Tennessee (1999), Miami (1982) and Minnesota (1974) joining the Bears as teams to lose the title game.

The Chargers pulled off the feat for the second time, having also done it in 1980 on the way to the AFC title game.

Only one of those teams to start the season with three straight division wins had a lead of at least two games over every other team in the division with Minnesota doing it in 2003. The Vikings actually missed the playoffs that season, finishing 9-7 and losing out on the division title to Green Bay when they allowed two TDs to Arizona in the final 2 minutes of the season finale.

The Kansas City Chiefs had typically been a fast-starting offense with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, leading the NFL with 197 first-half touchdowns in the regular season from 2018-24.

That hasn't been the case of late as Kansas City's sluggish play on offense being most evident in the first half.

Before losing last season's Super Bowl to Philadelphia, the Chiefs had scored TDs on 35.1% of all first-half drives since he made his first start in the 2017 season finale. Josh Allen had the second highest rate at 30.1% in that span.

But starting with the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles and continuing for the first three games of this season, the Chiefs have scored only one offensive touchdown on 21 non-kneel down drives for a rate of 4.8%.

The calendar hasn't turned to October and the NFL's two teams in the New York City market are already looking at lost seasons.

Not that this is anything new.

For the third time in the past six seasons, both the New York Giants and Jets have opened the season with three straight losses. Those two teams began 0-3 in the same season only twice in the first 60 seasons of the two franchises.

The Giants and Jets couldn't recover from those previous 0-3 starts in 2020 and '21 with the Giants going 6-10 and 4-12 in those seasons while the Jets posted back-to-back last-place finishes with records of 2-14 and 4-13.

The Jets have the NFL's longest active playoff drought having not made it since 2010 — three years shy of the post-merger record of 17 straight seasons without a playoff berth held by Cleveland, Buffalo and New Orleans.

The Giants have made the postseason just twice in the 13 seasons since winning the franchise's fourth Super Bowl title in the 2011 season.

The Jets and Giants are the NFL's two worst teams over the past 10 seasons with the Jets ranking last with 46 wins since the start of the 2016 season and the Giants second-to-last with 51 wins.

Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.

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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh answers questions after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Carrie Giordano)

San Francisco 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro, top, celebrates after his winning field goal against the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin (4) gestures after kicking a field goal to win the game during the end of the second half at an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) is sacked by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Tyquan Lewis (94), defensive tackle Grover Stewart (90) and outside linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

New York Giants' Jaxson Dart reacts after a call on the field in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Aaron Glenn finally had seen enough from his porous, underachieving New York Jets defense after 14 games.

The first-year head coach fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday, a day after the team gave up 48 points in one of its worst losses in a 3-11 season.

Glenn announced that Chris Harris, the team's defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, would take over for Wilks. Glenn added that he would assist Harris in the play-calling duties this week.

Glenn said during a video call with reporters that he made the decision late Sunday night — a few hours after New York's 48-20 loss at Jacksonville. He said he spoke to Wilks on Monday morning to inform him that he was relieving him of his duties.

“I felt like it was the best decision for the organization at this time,” Glenn said. “I've said this all along, that I'm evaluating players, I'm evaluating coaches, I'm evaluating myself, and I just felt like this was the best decision for right now, for the team and for this organization.”

The 56-year-old Wilks was the first of the Jets' three coordinators hired by Glenn after he took over as head coach in January. Wilks was out of the NFL last season while serving as a volunteer adviser for Charlotte’s football team. He was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator in 2023, but was fired after the 49ers’ loss in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wilks' defense with the Jets struggled all season, ranking among the league's worst against the run and points allowed. New York set an NFL record with no interceptions through its first 14 games, which also tied a league mark for any 14-game stretch in a season.

The Jets had expected their defense to be a strength for a team that was adjusting to changes to its coaching staff and with a new general manager in Darren Mougey. But the unit struggled all season under Wilks. As of Monday, the Jets' defense ranks 20th overall, 29th against the run and 30th in average points allowed. The pass defense has been serviceable, ranking 12th in the league.

New York, which failed to make the playoffs for the 15th straight year, dealt two of its top players — cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams — at the trade deadline. That further weakened an already inconsistent defense under Wilks.

Two weeks ago, the Jets gave up 167 yards rushing in a 27-24 victory over Atlanta. They followed that up by allowing 239 yards on the ground last week in a 34-10 loss to Miami. On Sunday, Trevor Lawrence threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score in the blowout loss at Jacksonville, during which the Jaguars scored on eight of their first nine possessions.

After the game, Glenn brushed off questions about whether he might consider pulling play-calling duties from Wilks, saying he brought the veteran coach to New York “for a reason, and I want him to run his system.” A few hours later, Glenn decided to move forward without Wilks for the final three games of the season.

“I just thought that from last week going into this week, the improvement wasn't there,” Glenn said. “And I thought it was time to make a change.”

The 43-year-old Harris had 16 career interceptions while playing safety for eight NFL seasons during two stints with Chicago, along with stops in Carolina, Detroit and Jacksonville. After retiring from playing in 2013, Harris began his coaching career as a defensive quality control coach for the Bears before joining the Chargers as an assistant defensive backs coach in 2016.

He served in the same role for Washington from 2020 through the 2022 season before being hired by Tennessee as the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach.

Glenn said Harris has experience calling defensive plays in the preseason, so he expects him to get up to speed quickly.

“This is a league of change,” Glenn said. “And with change comes opportunity, and this will be a good opportunity for him to get a chance to call it.”

The Jets actually got their second defensive takeaway of the season against Jacksonville, a fumble recovery by Malachi Moore — just over two months after Andre Cisco's fumble recovery against Denver on Oct. 12. New York ranks last in the NFL with a minus-17 turnover differential.

“I want to see consistent improvement,” Glenn said. “I want to see structure that’s consistent. I want to see play that’s consistent. And I want to see the culture of this football team come together.”

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FILE - New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks walks onto the field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, on Sept. 29, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, File)