The Los Angeles Chargers travel to New York to take on the Giants this Sunday. The Bolts are 3-0 on the season after taking down three consecutive AFC West opponents. As for the Giants, they are 0-3 with two division losses and a recent one to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
The major storyline for this weekend in the NFL is that Jaxson Dart is replacing Russell Wilson as QB1. Head coach Brian Daboll decided to change things up before things really got out of hand. Wilson didn't necessarily play poorly in three games. He even played well in the narrow overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, throwing for 450 yards and three touchdowns. The Giants played terribly against the Chiefs last weekend, and the decision was made to go with the rookie first-round pick.
If the Giants want to have success against the undefeated Chargers, they are going to have to play well on both sides of the ball. Jim Harbaugh's team is very good, but they do have some fatal flaws that could hurt them and allow the Giants to remain close in this game and even win.
For this article, the discussion will be about one fatal flaw on each side of the ball. First up, headliner Jaxson Dart, going up against Derwin James and the Bolts' gritty defense.
Jaxson Dart Must Have Explosive Plays
The Chargers' defense does a great job of executing against a simple offensive game plan. Jesse Minter's defense is elite against the run and does a good job of playing zone defense. They force opposing quarterbacks to make big plays to beat them. Because of this tactic, it can backfire on them, as they see explosions happening often. Against the Denver Broncos last weekend, if Denver had executed a certain two plays, they would have beaten the Chargers and added an extra two explosives as well.
Going back to Week 1 in Brazil against KC, the Chargers have allowed a handful of big plays this season. In Week 1, Patrick Mahomes connected with Hollywood Brown on a deep pass that almost resulted in a touchdown late in the game. Right before the first half ended, Mahomes threw a 38-yard pass to Tyquan Thornton and then later completed a 37-yard TD to Travis Kelce. Those three plays allowed the Chiefs to remain in the game.
In Week 2 against the Raiders, the Chargers improved, not allowing an explosive play all night long. Against Denver, the Broncos had many chances. Right before the first half ended, Bo Nix found Courtland Sutton for a 52-yard touchdown as Sutton was wide open. In the third quarter, Denver scored a TD on three plays thanks to former Charger J.K. Dobbins making two big plays on that drive. If Nix had not missed Sutton late in the game for another big play, the result may have been different.
The point is, is that Jaxson Dart and the Giants must have explosive plays ready because it could benefit them, even when things may not start on the right foot.
Dart must connect with Malik Nabers, Wan'Dale Robinson, and hopefully get Darius Slayton involved for big plays. The Giants just need to make a few explosives to change the game. You witnessed it in Week 1 and Week 3 for the Bolts.
Giants Pass Rush Disrupts Justin Herbert
Another Chargers' fatal flaw is due to their banged-up offensive line. The deadly New York pass rush has a chance to replicate what the Broncos did last weekend. They pressured Justin Herbert time and time again, which resulted in 14 QB hits, the most he has ever dealt with. The Giants' pass rush is watching tape and hoping they can do the same thing this weekend. Chargers starting left tackle Rashawn Slater is out for the season, and right guard Mekhi Becton is in concussion protocol.
If the Giants' pass rush has success on Sunday, Jaxson Dart may not even need to play out of his mind to win this game. The odds are stacked against him, as the Chargers have played well this season, but anything is possible early in the year. Dart must play mistake-free football and let his defense do most of the work. If the Giants can score points on Sunday, they will be in a position to win this game. A high-scoring affair benefits the Giants as the Bolts will aim to keep this low-scoring.
If Dart upsets the Bolts in front of a home crowd on Sunday, the momentum could flip in a very positive way for this franchise.
