LANDOVER, Md. -- New York Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked after Sunday's 21-6 season-opening loss to the Washington Commanders if it was fair to say that quarterback Russell Wilson will be the team's starter next week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys. His answers were hardly definitive just moments after a contest in which first-round pick Jaxson Dart served as the team's backup ahead of veteran Jameis Winston.
Wilson went 17-of-37 passing for 168 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the loss. He was especially ineffective under pressure, completing just 2 of 12 passes for 26 yards with two sacks and two scrambles.
"We're going to get home and look at our game," Daboll said when asked if he would consider starting Dart next week.
Nothing the Giants coach said afterward seemed to offer any significant clarity either.
"Yeah, we're just right here after the game," Daboll said. "I've got confidence. ... We have to do better around overall -- coaches, players, [all] around everybody. So we'll get focused and ready to go on to Dallas."
When it was mentioned that that answer could be construed as a non-answer, Daboll didn't exactly say that Wilson would start against the Cowboys. He was equally noncommittal.
"We're talking about after every game. ... I've got confidence in Russ," he said. "We'll go back, evaluate the tape. This game isn't on Russell Wilson. It's not on Russell Wilson. Let me make that clear. I have confidence in Russ. We have to do a better job all the way around."
New York managed just 231 yards of total offense. The Giants averaged 3.2 yards per rush. They stumbled twice in the red zone.
Wilson said he believes that is where things went wrong.
"The game was simple in the sense that we didn't convert in the red zone," he said.
The Giants signed Wilson this offseason to a one-year deal to be the team's starting quarterback. For how long is now the question after Dart had a strong summer and preseason and New York stumbled in the opener.
Daboll chose Dart over Winston to be the team's No. 2 quarterback in the season opener. Winston was the No. 3 emergency quarterback.
"I thought he earned it," Daboll said of his young quarterback. "Thought Jaxson earned it."
Neither Dart nor Winston was made available to speak on the decision after the loss. The Giants did have a package planned for Dart, although they didn't use it in the contest. Wilson played all 62 offensive plays.
Having Dart just one play from entering the game only increases the eyeballs on Wilson's play. The 10-time Pro Bowler said it doesn't provide any extra pressure.
"No, I just focus on what we can control. I thought we competed our butts off [Sunday]," Wilson said. "That was a physical game. I thought we left it all on the field. We gave it our all physically. You stand tall in the midst of that game. Battling through it and trying to find a way to win. Like I said, they stopped us in the red zone. I think that was the name of this game. We had, I think, eight or nine possessions; two of them were down in the red zone. We didn't capitalize on those, so that's what we got to do."
Unfortunately for the Giants, it looked like an extension of the previous two seasons when the offense struggled mightily to score points. The team finished 30th and 31st in points per game the past two years.
There was optimism throughout the spring and summer that Wilson and his leadership would bring a more efficient and effective offense. That moving on from Daniel Jones and inserting a player with the experience and pedigree of Wilson (a 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback and a Super Bowl winner) would help get the most out of this group.
Aside from the quarterback position, the Giants returned 10 of 11 starters from last year's offense.
But at least for one week, it didn't look much different.
"I'd say with everybody offensively, it's everyone included, we all have to be better, every coach, every player. We had six points there," Daboll said. "Just not good enough. So we have to do better there."