Russell Wilson had a horrible first game as the New York Giants quarterback, but one of his wideouts still has his back.
Darius Slayton, a Giants veteran, came to his quarterback’s defense after Wilson’s dreadful performance against the Washington Commanders in New York’s 21-6 loss at Northwest Stadium on Sunday.
Wilson went 17 for 37 for just 168 yards and did not lead a touchdown drive for the Giants. He ranks 31st among the 32 starting quarterbacks in completion percentage (45.9) while sitting 29th in the league in yards per completion (4.5).
What Did Darius Slayton Say To Defend Russell Wilson?
Slayton is the longest-tenured offensive player on the Giants and was voted as one of the team’s captains for this season. The fifth-round pick of the 2019 NFL Draft has four years of at least 700 receiving yards in his six years in the NFL.
But Slayton was only targeted once and did not record a catch in the Giants‘ 15-point loss Sunday. But the veteran was taken aback when asked what the offense’s faith in Wilson was on his Zoom call with reporters Monday.
“We have full confidence in him,” Slayton said. “I think he’s shown himself throughout the time he’s been here that he’s a competent quarterback. He’s plenty equipped to do the job, and we have full faith in him.”
Slayton was on the field for 66 plays Sunday, which ended up being 97 percent of the team’s total of 68. But Slayton also lamented his lone target, which came in the third quarter, since he felt there should have been a penalty on the play that could have led to a first down.
“Ultimately, my job is to get open and catch the ball when it comes my way,” Slayton said. “Unfortunately, I got one target, and I got facemasked — which didn’t get called — but as a receiver all you can do is run your routes and get open and try to be ready when the ball comes my way.”
What Did Darius Slayton Say About the Giants Offense?
The Giants defense played well enough to give them a chance to win against last season’s NFC runners-up.
But the offense’s struggles were glaring, since they put up just 231 total yards.
“It was penalties or lack of execution or just different little things that derailed drives we had,” Slayton said. “Then we got the ball in the red zone two times and weren’t ablet o get the ball in the end zone. A lot of things come down to individual execution on a play-by-play basis.”
When asked straight up why the Giants failed to punch the ball in on two red-zone opportunities — they ran 13 plays inside the Washington 20-yard line and eight plays inside the 5-yard line yet could not get it in the end zone — Slayton blamed execution.
“All of it was just execution,” Slayton said. “We were just a little bit off on the timing, and that was literally the story with all of them.”
The Giants offense will need to be better to avoid another 0-2 start, since they will go to Texas for a date with the Dallas Cowboys. Slayton shared the message for how to steal a win against their NFC East rivals.
“Every game is urgent,” Slayton said. “Every game is important, especially against a division opponent like we have this week, but I think the urgency is sky high and needs to stay there.”
WR Darius Slayton Sends Strong Message on Russell Wilson & Giants QB Situation