The New York Giants (0-3) host the Los Angeles Chargers (3-0) this Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart will make his first start this week as he takes over for Russell Wilson in Brian Daboll’s last-ditch effort to keep his job. Unfortunately for Dart, it comes against a team that has surged early in the season.

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The Chargers’ defense ranks 11th in passing and seventh in rushing, so no matter who played quarterback this week, it was always going to be a tough game.

The Chargers look like a new team in Jim Harbaugh’s second season as head coach. Justin Herbert would lead the league in passing right now if Seattle and Arizona hadn’t already played this week; Herbert sits behind Darnold by just 45 yards. Puka Nacua is second in receiving behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Darnold’s favorite target. They are out to make a statement in 2025.

Let’s dive into six things the Giants must do to defeat the Chargers in Week 4.

Make it easy for Dart

Luckily for Jaxson Dart and the Giants, this is a home game, so the rookie doesn’t have to debut on the road. Still, it’s going to be a difficult game because the Chargers are playing very well so far. The Giants need to simplify things for Dart, give him plays that are easy to execute, so that he is set up for success. See the below tweet from Daniel Jeremiah for the best way to do that.

The defense can help, too. They have to play well and not get behind on the scoreboard. They need to focus on field position and giving Dart the best possible starting point, and nabbing some turnovers would be icing on the cake.

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Don’t handcuff him, either

While the Giants are trying to simplify the game for Dart to help him execute, they also can’t hold him back. Let him take the deep shots he wants to take. Help him channel and control his aggression. Keep it simple, but let the leash loose.

Pressure Justin Herbert

The Giants absolutely must collapse the pocket and apply pressure on Justin Herbert. A clean pocket will be their worst enemy against this offense. Last week, Herbert faced pressure on 54.7 percent of his dropbacks. Under pressure, he completed 10 of 23 pass attempts for 143 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Those stats aren’t horrible, but it’s a clear decline in production versus when he has a clean pocket.

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Try using some stunts

The Giants’ pass rush is the defense’s greatest strength. Shane Bowen has heavily relied on a four-man rush this season, but he uses defensive line stunts at the second-lowest rate (7.1%) in the NFL, behind the Detroit Lions. The Giants are in the negative quadrant for pressure when not stunting, which makes no sense given the Giants’ talented personnel. They have the talent and the ability; there’s no reason not to use stunting more often.

Stop the power run

Rookie running back Omarion Hampton is, essentially, the Chargers’ entire run game right now. Najee Harris tore his Achilles tendon last week, leaving Hampton and Hassan Haskins to lead the ground game. The Chargers are a downhill, power-running team, so Dexter Lawrence and the interior defensive line have to win at the point of attack, or the Giants’ linebackers and safeties are going to be tasked with cleaning up the mess. The Giants struggle with missed tackles as it is, and Hampton has forced a lot of missed tackles this year.

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Show discipline

The Giants have proven to be incredibly undisciplined. They are 1-14 in the last 15 games, and discipline is a big reason why. They have issues with tackling, they drop key passes, the red zone is a major struggle on both sides of the ball, and they rank near the top of the league for penalties committed. The self-inflicted wounds have to be minimized; otherwise, they’re simply helping the Chargers get a win on the road.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants vs. Los Angeles Chargers: 6 keys to victory in Week 4