Russell Wilson turned back the clock on Sunday to put forth a vintage big-time performance and deliver the first real, competent showing by a New York Giants quarterback in years.
The 36-year-old admitted he heard “a lot of noise” in the week leading up to the Giants’ Week 2 matchup in Dallas against the Cowboys after he passed for just 168 yards in his team debut against the Washington Commanders.
Plenty were calling for his job, yearning to see rookie Jaxson Dart take over Big Blue’s offense after his strong preseason showing. But Wilson quieted those shouts in Dallas despite the Giants’ 40-37 loss, passing for 450 yards — becoming just the fifth Giants quarterback to throw for 400-plus yards in a game — with three touchdowns.
“This game meant a lot to me,” Wilson said. “It was time to answer the call. So that for me was important to do that. Not for anyone else, but for myself.”
All three of his touchdowns were over 25 yards, first connecting with Malik Nabers on a 29-yard score before nabbing two in the final minutes of regulation — a 32-yard strike to Wan’Dale Robinson before a 48-yard bomb to Malik Nabers gave the Giants a three-point lead with 25 seconds left.
That final rainbow ball to Nabers should have been the coup de grass on his big day. It should have been more than enough to give the Giants their first win of the season. But the defense blew it, undone by the mystifying play-calling of coordinator Shane Bowen.
Still, Wilson is going to hold on to the starting quarterback job for at least another week. He’ll likely have to be just as good to keep up with Patrick Mahomes and the surprising 0-2 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
But he certainly won’t be paying much attention should those calls for Dart intensify yet again.
“Someone once told me the greater you are great, the more they are going to hate,” Wilson said. “I’ll never forget. My dad was on his deathbed. I was playing college football. I had a pastor in North Carolina, at NC State, tell me that one day. And I was going through a lot of tough stuff. My dad on his deathbed. I was playing well, and I was going through this and that, and I was going through some of the highest moments, but also some of the toughest moments personally. I never forget he told me that. The greater you are great, the more they are going to hate. So, for me, I embrace the noise. I don’t run from it.”
