I will never feel too much empathy for New York Giants fans for all the times they beat my Chicago Bears back in the 1980s, but what a massive bummer for Big Blue that rising star quarterback Jaxson Dart was lost for the season in Monday night's blowout loss. Life begins without him on Sunday against visiting Tennessee with interception-prone Jameis Winston as the starter. Sign up to wager on NFL games using the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets:
It's a matchup of former No. 1 overall picks in Winston and Titans quarterback Cam Ward. CBS has the telecast Sunday at 1 ET from MetLife Stadium and the weather looks like it might be a factor, per Weather.com's forecast: Windy at times with periods of rain. High 63F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch. At -2.5, the Titans are taking 81% of the spread money and 56% of the bets at DraftKings. On the total of 38.5, which has utterly plummeted, 90% of the handle and 66% of tue tickets are on the Under.
Giants vs. Titans NFL same-game parlay
- New York money line
- Alt Under 45.5
FanDuel SGP price: +117
Week 2 was devastating to young quarterbacks going down with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels joining Dart in getting injured. The Bears got fairly good news on Williams, while the Commanders will be missing Daniels for weeks. The Giants obviously got the short end of the injury stick even though immediately after the injury on the MNF telecast, GM Joe Schoen told ESPN that Dart was "OK" after leaving the loss against the Rams in the first quarter.
Schoen is getting ripped nationally for either lying to the media or not knowing the truth, but to be fair on Monday coach John Harbaugh told reporters that the team likely avoided "a disastrous outcome." Turns out that while Dart's ACL is intact, he has damage to his meniscus and MCL that requires surgery.
Winston takes over with his career 36-53 starting mark in the NFL and more interceptions (114) than total games played (109). But he also averages the sixth-most passing yards per game (270.0) as a starter in NFL history with a minimum of 25 starts. Winston isn't boring, that's for sure -- he's the definition of high-risk, high-reward.
He wasn't good in relief against the Rams, completing 11 of 27 for 111 yards and a pick, but the team was a bit shell-shocked due to the Dart injury. Jake Haener has been called up off the practice squad to be his backup. He beat out Brandon Allen for the No. 3 role originally.
How did the sportsbooks treat this obviously massive season downgrade from Dart to Winston? The Giants opened the season with an Over/Under wins total generally at 7.5 that rose to 8.5 following a 28-20 home win over Dallas in Week 1 in which Dart looked great with three total TDs. The team was +165 to make the playoffs and +375 to win the NFC East.
However, following the 28-6 loss to the Rams and the loss of Dart, the Giants' win total is 6.5 with the Under at -125. For the postseason, New York is now +500 and the NFC East +1100. Per the SportsLine Projection Model, the team's updated win total is 5.7 and the Giants have just a 2.4% shot at the playoffs â those drop to 5.1 and 1.1% with a loss.
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Big Blue is 0-5 without Dart the past two seasons and 5-9 with him. He is the only quarterback in league history with at least 18 passing TDs and nine rushing TDs in his first 14 starts. What fascinates me here is what if the Giants are just wretched now and get the top pick in what is supposed to be a loaded quarterback 2027 draft? Dart clearly is gifted but injury-prone, now having been in the blue medical tent in 44% of his NFL starts (including preseason).
With all the Week 2 QB injuries, this likely will be the second straight season in which at least five teams will have started multiple quarterbacks by Week 3 after it happened just once in the previous nine seasons.
The Giants seek their first 2-0 start at home since 2009, which is the longest active drought in the NFL by eight seasons ⦠naturally the second-longest belongs to their MetLife co-tenant Jets, who last started 2-0 at home in 2017. Harbaugh started 2-0 at home eight times while head coach in Baltimore.
What do the Titans and Giants have in common? They were the only two teams to draft a QB in Round 1 of the 2025 draft and have the two worst records in the league since the start of 2023.
Tennessee is looking to avoid starting 0-3 in three straight seasons for the first time in team history. Ward holds a 3-16 mark and could become the seventh QB since 1950 to lose at least 17 of his first 20 along with Steve DeBerg, Chris Weinke, Jack Thompson, Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Bryce Young. Chris Weinke always makes me giggle.
Ward has 14 total touchdowns and only two turnovers in his past nine starts after tallying six TDs and 12 giveaways in his first 12. His new offensive coordinator is Brian Daboll, who was the Giants' head coach from 2022-25. There are six former Giants player on the Titans' active roster.
If the Giants were hosting anyone but the Titans, I probably pass with the Dart news. But Tennessee is flat-out terrible, and Big Blue still has the far superior roster. New York should squeak it out in what might be a rugby score (and weather). Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
