Russell Wilson on fighting for Giants’ QB job: ‘Embrace challenge’

The Russell Wilson era got off to a rocky start in Week 1 for New York, as the Giants lost to the Washington Commanders 21-6, with Wilson and the Giants’ offense struggling noticeably.

Wilson completed 17 of 37 passes for a paltry 168 yards and nearly lost a fumble. The Giants were also outgained 432-231 and converted just 4 of 16 third-down attempts.

On Wednesday, Wilson spoke to the media and stressed the close margin midway through the fourth quarter as a reason for optimism, while also acknowledging he expects better play out of himself.

“I think the biggest part of that game was the red zone, ball on the one, we’ve got to get the ball in,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to find ways to score down there. I think that’s the biggest part of the game. This game was 14 to 6 with like six, seven minutes to go. We had two opportunities down there and we didn’t get it done.

“I didn’t play good enough. I think you always want to play better. Obviously, whenever you don’t win, you always feel like there’s more to do. I think that’s the biggest thing and just focus on playing it great this week.”

Wilson is currently set to be the fourth quarterback to start against the Cowboys in the last five meetings, but calls for top backup and first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart have only increased after Wilson’s Giants debut.

The 14-year veteran and 10-time Pro Bowler isn’t worried about those calls yet, especially after his head coach Brian Daboll recently confirmed Wilson would start again in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.

“I think that you embrace challenge,” Wilson said. “I don’t think I run from challenges. I don’t think I run from anything. I know how confident I am in myself; confident I am in the guys that we have.”

Wilson was the team’s leading rusher against Washington, which clearly wasn’t part of the game plan. Overall, Giants running backs combined to rush for 30 yards on 15 attempts, an unacceptable 2.0 yards per carry average.

Those numbers didn’t help the Giants either.

“It’s not about me, it’s about us as a collective group, and I think if we can play a little cleaner on first and second down, I mean, that’s the name — we had so many second-and-longs and third-and-longs,” Wilson added. “It’s hard to win that way, and we still had a chance to win. That’s the crazy thing. We still had a chance to win down there and down low. I think that’s what we’ve got to clean up and do.”