Giants 2025 schedule: Identifying possible pockets in NFL season where rookie Jaxson Dart could ascend to QB1

Typically, when the NFL rolls out its regular-season schedule for the upcoming year, it’s a time for blind optimism. You can confidently stroll down the schedule and recklessly throw around wins like they are Halloween candy. In the case of the New York Giants, however, their 2025 schedule will likely send a shiver down your spine. 

New York faces the most difficult schedule in the NFL based on both opponent win percentage from last season (.574) and their projected win total for 2025. Out of the gate, they are saddled with a two-game road trip against division rivals, traveling to face the Washington Commanders in Week 1 and then the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. When they finally get home, they’ll be greeted by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. Woof. 

The Giants also have three different two-game road stints, while they’ll have consecutive home games just twice. They’ll also have to wait until late in the season to catch their breath as they have a Week 14 bye. 

This is a long way of saying that it could prove to be another daunting year for the G-Men. However, the silver lining throughout all the scheduling obstacles they’ll soon face is the hope that they’ve found their next franchise quarterback: Jaxson Dart. New York selected the Ole Miss product after trading back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and plucking him with the 25th overall pick. 

Currently, Dart is QB3 on the depth chart with Russell Wilson slotted in as the starter and fellow free agent addition Jameis Winston as the veteran backup. While that’s how the QB masthead stands at the moment, it’s only a matter of time before New York gives way and begins the Dart era. Given that the Giants could fall out of contention rather quickly with their difficult schedule, they could look to begin laying the foundation for the future sooner rather than later. 

When is the optimal time to possibly make that change for Dart (assuming an injury doesn’t thrust him up sooner)? Let’s dive into New York’s schedule and identify some pockets where it could make sense to see the rookie ascend. 

Is this the softest of landing spots for Dart? Absolutely not. Denver boasts one of the best secondaries in the NFL, and Mile High is one of the more difficult road environments in the league. That said, most of New York’s games to begin 2025 are going to be tough. As noted by Sharp Football Analysis, six of the Giants’ first eight games will come against top-seven pass defenses from last season, which includes the Broncos. 

So why is this a spot we’re identifying for Dart? Well, this game comes right after the Giants host the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. That game will take place on “Thursday Night Football,” which would give New York extra time to prepare for the following week and get Dart added reps with the first-team offense. The Giants could conceivably be looking at a 1-5 record at that juncture, which would also build momentum for a possible change at quarterback. 

In the same vein as the Week 7 scenario, this spot on New York’s schedule would allow some extra time for Dart to prepare for what would be his first career start. The Giants visit the Detroit Lions in Week 12, which could prove to be a bludgeoning harsh enough to make a QB switch. Then, they face the New England Patriots in Foxborough for “Monday Night Football” to wrap up Week 13. While it’s only an added day of preparation, each moment will matter to give Dart the best possible chance to show promise out of the gate. New York also goes into its bye after this matchup, which would allow Dart to catch his breath and dissect his first start before closing out the final month. Similar to Denver, however, this could be a tough on-field matchup as New England is projected to have a stout defense in 2025, headlined by All-Pro corner Christian Gonzalez.

Week 15 vs. Washington Commanders

Getting a late bye isn’t an ideal development for the Giants’ hopes of being competitive on a weekly basis, but it does present arguably the most ideal time to bring up Dart. If they choose not to start him in Week 13 against New England, they could simply make the call after that contest, spend the bye week getting him up to speed to start over the final month. While their opponents over these final four games are tough (beginning with the Commanders in Week 15), three of those matchups are at MetLife Stadium. The lone road game over that stretch comes in Week 17 when they travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders. This window would give New York a big enough sample size to see what it has in Dart before entering the offseason. 

Could Dart win Offensive Rookie of the Year? 

Given that Dart is currently not slated to start the season as New York’s starter, his +2200 odds make sense. If he were to win the job outright (which seems unlikely), his odds would surge closer to Ward’s +380 simply given the nature of NFL awards and the bias toward the quarterback position. If we work under the assumption that Dart becomes QB1 at some point during the season, it’d be a tall hill to climb for him to win OROY. 

Former Los Angeles Raiders running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen won Offensive Rookie of the Year after appearing in nine games during a strike-shortened season. That’s the fewest games for any player to win the award, but that was under a unique circumstance. Meanwhile, four players won OROY playing in just 12 games, including former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014. The three other players were running backs. 

At the quarterback position, Ben Roethlisberger and Ben Shaw both appeared in 14 games, which is the fewest a player has registered and still went on to win the award. 

So as this relates to Dart’s chances, he’d have to see the field likely within the first month to get consideration for the award, if history serves as precedent. Even if he starts in Week 7 against Denver (our earlier window we projected), that’d give him just 11 starts to end the year, which is a lot of ground to cover, especially against the odds-on favorite Jeanty, as the Raiders running back is slated to see a lot of work beginning Week 1. On top of simply finding enough playing time, Dart would have to then play at an OROY level, which could prove difficult given New York’s treacherous schedule, so this doesn’t seem like a wise wager at the moment.