Jordan RaananOct 18, 2025, 06:00 AM ETCloseJordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.Follow on X
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The smiles inside the Quest Diagnostics Training Center seem to be a little bit wider this week.
This is the result of winning two of three games since rookie Jaxson Dart became the New York Giants starting quarterback. The first victory was over a quality Los Angeles Chargers team and the second came against the division rival and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday night.
Asking what the vibes are like at this point inside the building at 1925 Giants Drive showcases a renewed optimism that surrounds the team.
Winning cures all woes in the NFL. It’s the ultimate deodorant. The Giants (2-4) had lost 18 of their past 22 games entering last Thursday night against the Eagles. They had dropped eight straight in the division. That left the fan base anticipating the next collapse, with very little on the horizon to keep them excited.
Wins over the Chargers and Eagles have seemingly changed everything. They’ve provided hope for a franchise that was lost for the previous two and a half years. The fans have been reinvigorated by the results and the way that Dart and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo play — neither are willing to concede a yard and both play with a youthful exuberance that captivated the national audience on Thursday night.
“For sure,” said standout defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, who is among the longest-tenured Giants. “You got some characters. That helps.”
Skattebo is the kind of guy who runs into telephone poles and headbutts new friends. Dart is a quarterback who dives headfirst into defenders.
“Definitely think they bring some juice just with the style that they play,” wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said.
“I think the vibe is just we’re trying to set a standard in the locker room, we’re trying to play tough, we’re trying to win at all costs,” Dart said. “The guys are coming to work with the right mindset.”
The young quarterback knows that all the energy can be zapped from a team. If they slouch, the results will show, he said this week. Dart and the Giants have a difficult matchup Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS) on the road against a ferocious Denver Broncos defense that leads the league in sacks. New York began the week as an underdog by more than a touchdown.
The Giants then have a rematch with the Eagles the following week in Philadelphia. New York is likely to be a significant underdog in that game as well.
“Winning helps. It definitely puts more smiles on people’s faces,” he said. “But at the same time, as players, this is what we come to work every day to do. So, we can’t treat it as something that’s surprising or out of the ordinary.
“We work our tails off to be able to go and win games. If we slouch at all in this league, you’re going to get beat. So, we’re just trying to prepare the right way and just keep the main thing the main thing.”
Coach Brian Daboll isn’t trying to get overly excited. He saves that enthusiasm for the sideline. He has predictably refused to play into the excitement this week.
Lawrence told ESPN there has always been a genuine care for each other in the Giants’ locker room — even through the extended losses of the past few seasons.
“I would say, yeah. It is different people. Different brand,” said veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton, who is tied with Lawrence as the longest-tenured Giant. “Obviously you have [Skattebo] playing well, playing like a maniac. [Dart] is his own personality. Wan’Dale is playing well. [Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey] played well last game. So I think it’s a really different feel because we’ve been productive on offense the past few weeks. We haven’t been able to string together many of them in the past.”
CloseJordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.Follow on X
“High,” tight end Daniel Bellinger said of the team atmosphere.
The feelings are palpable off a massive win and with a promising young quarterback.
It has created an optimistic atmosphere around the team that hasn’t been there for years.
In a way, it exemplifies who they are as people — and players. It rubs off on others.
It just comes natural to rookies. Everything else, including the refreshing vibe, seems to follow.
Even so, Dart knows what is necessary to keep this going.
“Business as usual,” he said. “We have a very tough team to get prepared for.”
The energy that Dart and Skattebo, in particular, have provided to this group helps.
But the locker room does have a different feel, especially in this moment.
“Yeah, whenever your leadership, and the quarterback particularly because he’s touching the ball every play, when you have that kind of spark, you have that kind of energy that you bring not only just to the huddle, to the field, but when you’re like that way in your meetings and you’re like that way in the hallway, in the locker room, and talking with the coaches and talking with the staff and talking with the people around the building, absolutely, that brings, it raises everyone’s level,” assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said.
What is Jaxson Dart bringing to the Giants? (1:05)Dan Graziano joins “Get Up” to talk about the positive energy Jaxson Dart has given the Giants after their huge Week 6 upset of the Eagles. (1:05)