\u201cWe can\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those three words told us exactly where he thinks this 0-3 team is right now: not built to go pound-for-pound with the league\u2019s heavyweights. It doesn\u2019t help that the schedule ahead may be scarier than a steroid-pumped Drago: The next six opponents include the red-hot Chargers, the defending champion Eagles (twice), the Broncos and the undefeated 49ers. Enter rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart<\/a>, not only to get the Giants into the win column, but to attempt to save head coach Brian Daboll\u2019s job in the process.<\/p>\n More on that later.<\/p>\n Speaking of movie favorites, there\u2019s always been something very Hollywood about Baker Mayfield. Maybe it\u2019s the charm. Maybe it\u2019s the swagger. Or maybe it\u2019s the fact that he\u2019s the only quarterback who ever looked completely at home starring in what felt like 43 commercials before his rookie contract was even up. (He\u2019s really good in all of them, too.)<\/p>\n After one of Tampa Bay\u2019s recent chaotic wins, a Bucs front office executive texted me: \u201cWe have Clint Eastwood playing QB.\u201d I shot back: \u201cAre you 87 years old? There\u2019s gotta be a better comparison for Baker in 2025.\u201d But after some quick Googling and a call to my 71-year-old dad for some explaining \u2026 turns out? It\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n Baker really is the gunslinger rolling into town with that \u201cgo ahead, make my day\u201d look \u2014 and a huge chip on his shoulder. He remembers every rejection<\/a>, every slight, every team that cut him, and then he goes out and punishes them on the field. He\u2019s been described as an \u201celite leader\u201d who stepped in after the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady and is just doing it his way.<\/p>\n It\u2019s wildly entertaining \u2014 and the Bucs keep winning because of him.<\/p>\n Now, here\u2019s the good, the bad and the ugly of what I\u2019m hearing this week on:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Texans\u2019 biggest foe is themselves<\/p>\n While Baker\u2019s 3-0 Buccaneers are stealing wins in the final seconds, the 0-3 Texans keep finding ways to give them back. Week 1 against the Rams? A fumble with under two minutes to play. Week 2 vs. Tampa Bay? Three failed cracks from the 1-yard line, plus a missed sack on fourth-and-10 that set up a Bucs touchdown with six seconds left. Week 3 against Jacksonville? Two fourth-quarter turnovers in scoring range, including an interception with 27 seconds on the clock. Three games, three gut-punch endings. What is going on in Houston?<\/p>\n This was supposed to look different.<\/p>\n After two straight division titles with 10-7 records, Houston reshuffled its offense in the offseason, with a new coordinator, four new starters up front and fresh weapons in Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins and Woody Marks. But through three weeks, it\u2019s been a mess. Communication is an obvious problem and the offense looks out of sync. Other teams see a leaky line and a team struggling to run the ball because it can\u2019t protect. I\u2019ve been told \u201cgive it time\u201d by many close to the situation, but it\u2019s hard to ignore that the Texans rank dead last in offensive success rate, which is somehow worse than the Giants. Worse than Joe Flacco-led Browns. Worse than the Titans (who the Texans play Sunday).<\/p>\n And somehow, they still don\u2019t have a red-zone touchdown \u2014 the only team with that distinction.<\/p>\n The shock isn\u2019t that the Texans are struggling. It\u2019s that they appear to be regressing. The roster has talent that could help Houston get through this September slump. Nico Collins is one of the best wideouts in the league, the running back room has depth (Joe Mixon remains on the non-football injury list with a foot\/ankle issue, but there should be clarity by mid-October) and C.J. Stroud is a good young quarterback. The fix isn\u2019t complicated: Take care of the football. The problem is that\u2019s also the hardest thing for them to do right now.<\/p>\n At some point, Houston has to stop co-starring with the Patriots in that Spider-Man meme, both tripping over themselves on offense.<\/p>\n Pats protecting the rock<\/p>\n Sorry for the strays, New England, but fumbling and throwing a pick inside the opponent\u2019s 5-yard line in the same game is gross, especially when young QB Drake Maye appears to be improving every week. The good news for the Patriots: Cornerback Christian Gonzalez is expected to make his season debut this week against Carolina. I\u2019m told Gonzalez has worked hard on his hamstring recovery to get back on the field and is ready to roll. He and the Patriots were in agreement on not rushing his return, and he should bolster a defense that badly needs him. Panthers QB Bryce Young has only one career road win, so it\u2019s a good spot for Gonzalez\u2019s return.<\/p>\n But the bigger question for New England is about ball security. The Patriots have already lost four fumbles, the most of any team that has played just three games. How do they clean that up this week? They have been drilling it constantly. Every practice period had some element of ball security, with ball carriers hammering on technique and everyone else hammering on protecting the guy with the ball. Now it just has to show up.<\/p>\n All on Daboll<\/p>\n The Giants actually considered turning to Jaxson Dart after their Week 1 loss to the Commanders, but they instead stuck with Russell Wilson, who had a vintage performance<\/a> against the Dallas Cowboys. Wilson kept his job, but it was just one epic showing before he fizzled against the Chiefs. Now, sitting at 0-3, Daboll\u2019s calculation is simple: Go down swinging with your guy. Ask fired head coaches what they regret most, and you\u2019ll hear the same answer: not doing it their way. Daboll is making sure he does.<\/p>\n This was his decision, for better or worse. Giants ownership doesn\u2019t typically force these kinds of moves, and I\u2019m told they didn\u2019t this time either. It wasn\u2019t GM Joe Schoen\u2019s mandate. The call belonged entirely to Daboll and he wants everyone to know it.<\/p>\n Only a handful of people inside the building even knew the switch was coming. Some raised objections, but in the end, Daboll pulled the trigger, and now the entire organization is backing him. So why not stick with collaborative messaging, saying \u201cwe decided on this,\u201d or \u201cas an organization, we believe Dart gives us the best chance?\u201d Daboll wants to own this decision, and inside the building, his approach has been \u201cput everything on me.\u201d<\/p>\n Daboll broke the news face-to-face with both Wilson and Dart. Wilson was disappointed but was the ultimate professional. Since signing with New York, the veteran has earned respect across the locker room for his energy and maturity as a leader. While many around the league assumed the Giants would cut him, the team chose to keep him on as the backup because he\u2019s fit in so well in the QB room.<\/p>\n For Dart, the conversation went a step further. After FaceTiming his parents to share the news, he and Daboll sat down for a long film session Tuesday afternoon, breaking down Josh Allen\u2019s highlights from Buffalo \u2014 Daboll once tutored Allen there \u2014 alongside some of Dart\u2019s best plays from Ole Miss. The good news for the rookie is that the offense he ran in college has plenty of overlap with what Daboll runs now. They spent hours talking through it before hitting the field on Wednesday. \u201cDart\u2019s a sponge,\u201d a Giants source said.<\/p>\n And inside the Giants locker room, I\u2019m told, they\u2019re fired up. Several players on both sides of the ball, including team captains, reached out right away with calls and FaceTimes to let Dart know they\u2019re behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has moxie. He has a legit chance of being great,\u201d another Giants person texted.<\/p>\n This was always Daboll\u2019s guy, and the staff has been preparing him all summer. And while backup QB Jameis Winston already gets plenty of praise for being a great teammate, he\u2019s lived up to that reputation here, spending hours with Dart and running through scripts over and over after practice until the rookie had them down cold.<\/p>\n When Dart met with the media<\/a>, he didn\u2019t play the savior. He said he\u2019s been preparing, he\u2019s ready and he\u2019s excited for the opportunity. For the Giants, turning to Dart is the right call. For Daboll, it\u2019s the only call.<\/p>\n And if you want to know how deep Daboll\u2019s belief runs? Just look at the end of their exchange on draft night:<\/p>\n Dart:<\/strong> \u201cI appreciate you.\u201d For the Giants, this is about the future. For Daboll, it\u2019s about survival. And for Dart, it\u2019s the chance to prove those final two words true.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just hope, for his sake, that the offensive line shows up on Sunday.<\/p>\n Is the real Greg Roman standing up?<\/p>\n Justin Herbert really does look different, and that\u2019s because the Chargers under Jim Harbaugh look different.<\/p>\n So does veteran offensive coordinator Greg Roman<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is this guy? This is not the Greg Roman we know!\u201d one NFL head coach told me over the phone while running through the league\u2019s top offenses. \u201cThe approach is not the same on offense.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Herbert has been unleashed for the L.A. Chargers this season. (Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n And he\u2019s right. It\u2019s a dramatic shift. Think back to last year, when the first 10 games were all about pounding the ground game, with Herbert barely getting to show off his arm. When they finally unleashed him, the offense opened up and they played their best football, carrying that momentum into the playoffs.<\/p>\n This year, it\u2019s flipped.<\/p>\n They\u2019re passing early and at an enormous rate, setting the tone through the air, with the sense they\u2019ll lean heavier on the run later as this young group grows together.<\/p>\n A leopard might not change its spots, but if Roman keeps evolving like this, the Chargers could have a whole new beast of an offense on their hands.<\/p>\n Wilson and Cousins staying put \u2026 for now<\/p>\n As mentioned above, the Giants are keeping Wilson as their backup, and while the team could always decide to cut him down the line, the thought is that Wilson has done a great job of bringing energy and guidance to their QB room. He wants to be in New York, even if he\u2019s not starting.<\/p>\n As for Kirk Cousins, he is sitting in Atlanta right now as the backup quarterback, and because of his no-trade clause, it\u2019s not as simple as just shipping him somewhere. He\u2019d have to sign off, and that\u2019s only going to happen if the situation is right.<\/p>\n Even then, the math isn\u2019t easy. Any team thinking about taking a swing would need cap room and budget space to absorb what\u2019s left of his $27.5 million base salary for 2025. They\u2019d have to give up a draft pick or two on top of that.<\/p>\n That said, desperation usually gets deals done in this league. If a playoff contender loses its starter midseason, Atlanta could flip the script. If the Falcons are willing to eat some of Cousins\u2019 money, they\u2019d essentially be buying themselves a better return: a higher draft pick from whichever desperate team picks up the phone.<\/p>\n Jerry Jones opens his wallet<\/p>\n The Cowboys are clearly on a mission to squash the narrative that Jerry Jones is stingy or drags his feet when it comes to paying his stars. Ever since shipping Micah Parsons to Green Bay<\/a>, Dallas has been on a full-blown spending spree to lock down the rest of its core.<\/p>\n Cornerback DaRon Bland got a $22 million signing bonus. Fullback Hunter Luepke pocketed $1.5 million, and guard Tyler Smith signed a four-year, $96 million deal, which makes him the highest-paid guard in football.<\/p>\n Put those three deals together, and Dallas went from ranking 26th in 2025 cash commitments all the way up to eighth. Jones closed the door on Parsons in Dallas but has opened his wallet for the future.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see how he feels about that approach on Sunday when his team hosts the Packers.<\/p>\n Coffee talkin\u2019<\/p>\n\n
\n
Daboll:<\/strong> \u201cAll right buddy, I love you, man.\u201d
Dart:<\/strong> \u201cYeah, I love you, too.\u201d
Daboll:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m banking on you. Ya got me?\u201d
Dart:<\/strong> \u201cYes, sir. Smart man.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2236627695-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n