Giants couldn’t bench Russell Wilson after one bad game. But what about after two?

New York Giants coach Brian Daboll left the door open to a quarterback change on Sunday. He predictably closed it on Monday. Daboll affirmed that he’s sticking with Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback for the Giants’ Week 2 matchup at Dallas.

Confirmation was necessary after Daboll was non-committal about Wilson’s status after the veteran’s underwhelming Giants debut in a 21-6 loss to the Commanders on Sunday.

Despite providing 24 hours of intrigue, this was the only decision for Daboll. He couldn’t make such a drastic change after just one bad game. The Giants spent the past six months planning around Wilson as the starter. They couldn’t pull the plug after one week.

It would be fair to give Wilson at least one start with Andrew Thomas at left tackle. There is optimism that Thomas could play against the Cowboys after not being ready to return from a Lisfranc injury for the opener.

Regardless of Thomas’ status, the leash on Wilson shouldn’t be long. If the Cowboys game resembles Sunday’s dysfunctional mess, then it will be time to switch to rookie Jaxson Dart.

The only argument against benching a struggling Wilson for Dart is a fear of rushing the rookie’s developmental timeline. But the Giants already indicated they believe Dart is ready to play by making him the No. 2 quarterback on game day. If there were any concerns about Dart’s readiness, they could have easily made veteran Jameis Winston the backup.

It’s understandable to be hesitant to rush Dart onto the field, but there isn’t some test teams can conduct to determine if a player is ready. They can only base that decision on what he’s shown and what they know about his mental progress.

There’s no perfect formula for making the change to a young quarterback. But a struggling veteran plus a promising rookie typically equals a change.

It may not be ideal for Dart’s debut to come against a Steve Spagnuolo-coordinated Chiefs defense in Week 3, but it’s hard to arrange a perfect landing spot. Dart is going to face tough defenses no matter when he takes over.

Though it’s important to do as much as possible to set up a rookie quarterback for success, they don’t need to be treated like a Faberge egg. If Dart is the real deal, he’ll be OK even if he faces some adversity this season.

This is a topic that can be revisited next week now that Daboll announced his intention to stick with Wilson. But the clock is ticking.

Here’s a final review of Sunday’s deflating loss:

Disappearing act

Running backs Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary and Cam Skattebo combined for just 30 yards on 15 carries. Poor blocking by the offensive line prevented any of the backs from enjoying success.

It’s not as if the passing game was clicking, as Wilson completed just 46% of his passes and averaged 4.5 yards per attempt. So it was surprising the Giants abandoned the run in a relatively close game.

The Giants had first-and-goal from the 1-yard early in the second quarter. They sandwiched two incompletions around a Skattebo run that got stuffed for a 1-yard loss.

Singletary picked up nine yards on two carries to set up a third-and-1 on a second quarter possession. The Giants eliminated any threat of a run by emptying the backfield, with Wilson firing a sidearm incompletion with a free rusher in his face.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka called three handoffs out of 19 plays over three possessions in the third and fourth quarters. That’s not a recipe for success with this cast on offense. The Giants need to get their run game straightened out to have a functional offense.

Thomas to the rescue?

It will be important for Thomas to make it through the three practices this week with no setbacks to clear the path for his return. Thomas will represent a significant upgrade on James Hudson, who filled in at left tackle in the opener. The Giants often helped Hudson with chip blocks from a tight end, which won’t be necessary when Thomas is back on the field.

But Thomas won’t solve all of the offensive line woes. The run-blocking struggles were concentrated on the interior, which Thomas can’t help. And the Commanders created pressure by using stunts on four-man rushes that will require better communication and execution by all five linemen.

Slot star

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers lined up in the slot on 37.5% of his snaps on Sunday. That was an increase from 24.3% last season.

The Giants used a lot of condensed formations, as they tried to set up rub routes for receivers. The slot fade was a featured piece of the game plan, with Nabers catching one of two such targets for 21 yards.

Nabers played 94% of the snaps despite missing Friday’s practice with back tightness. Wilson and Nabers weren’t in sync, connecting on only five of 12 targets for 71 yards. Nabers had to make some spectacular catches just to reach that level of production. The coaches need to find a way to make it easier to get the ball to their top weapon.

Defense underdelivers

The Giants defense played well on Sunday. But not well enough.

Daboll celebrating that the Giants held the Commanders to 14 points “in the fourth quarter” was odd considering they finished with 21 points. The Giants allowed an 80-yard touchdown drive to put the game away when a stop would have given the offense one last chance to tie the score.

Again, the defense wasn’t the problem. Allowing 21 points should be enough to win a game. But the Giants may need their defense to play at a higher level to win with this offense.

It seemed like the Commanders left points on the board due to self-inflicted errors (drops, inaccurate passes, penalties) more than anything the Giants did. And like their matchups last season, the Commanders were able to convert second-and-longs and third-and-longs with alarming frequency.

The Giants mostly utilized a four-man rush. The pass rush had a few moments, but Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels consistently made plays by escaping the pocket.

Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was unusually quiet, failing to record a pressure. Lawrence looked like someone who hasn’t played football in a long time. The Giants slowly ramped up Lawrence in training camp in his return from the dislocated elbow he suffered last November. Lawrence played 70% of the snaps, which is in line with his typical workload, but his level of disruption fell far below his standard.

Shutdown corner?

Giants top cornerback Paulson Adebo traveled with Commanders top receiver Terry McLaurin. That was a new responsibility for Adebo, who almost exclusively played left corner in his four seasons with the Saints.

Adebo was up to the task, limiting McLaurin to two catches for 27 yards on four targets. But that stat line would have looked much different if Daniels didn’t over-throw McLaurin on a deep ball after he burned Adebo for a potential 69-yard touchdown.

The Giants rotated at the other corner spot, as The Athletic reported was the plan last Friday. Cor’Dale Flott got the start and played on early downs. Deonte Banks replaced Flott on passing downs. Flott played 84% of the snaps, compared to 16% for Banks.

It’s an odd arrangement since the coaches are taking the player who “won” the No. 2 corner competition off the field when the opponent is most likely to pass. And it’s not as if the slight Flott is an advantage in run support on early downs. The Giants used a similar rotation with Flott and Adoree’ Jackson last season.

Flott gave up two completions for 52 yards on the Commanders’ first touchdown drive and got caught too far inside on Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Banks wasn’t targeted in his limited action.

Playing it safe?

Daboll’s fourth-down decision making was typically inconsistent. It was understandable that he changed course after going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line early in the second quarter. An incompletion was wiped away by a defensive penalty that gave the Giants first-and-goal at the 1. After three straight ugly plays, Daboll elected to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2.

Daboll took a big risk by going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Giants’ 29-yard line in the third quarter while trailing 14-3. Wilson picked up 2 yards while absorbing a big hit on a quarterback sneak. The Giants finished that drive with a field goal to pull within one score.

The Giants got the ball back trailing 14-6 and Daboll went conservative with a punt on fourth-and-4 from New York’s 49-yard line. Punter Jamie Gillan spoiled Daboll’s plan of pinning the Commanders deep in their territory with a touchback. Washington drove 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown to put the game away.

Gillan had a rough game. He had punts of 34 and 38 yards in the second quarter that gave the Commanders good field position and he boomed a 65-yard punt for a touchback.

(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)

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