EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants didn’t just lose to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They lost the majority of the crowd at MetLife Stadium by the end of the 34-24 defeat.
The red in the crowd for the 49ers was noticeable from the start. But it was not the majority. Still, one could hear the drawn-out chants of “Juice” when fullback Kyle Juszczyk got a carry in the first half and loud pockets of cheers when the 49ers took control of the game.
By the time the game was winding down, it was almost all 49ers fans in the lower sections chanting “CMC” when running back Christian McCaffrey scored his second touchdown of the contest to make it 34-17 with just over four minutes remaining. That’s because most of the 83,258 in the building that were New York fans had headed to the exit by that point.
The San Francisco takeover was so noticeable that it caught the attention of Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“Oh, it was interesting,” Dart said. “I’ve never really played in a home game where I felt like it was kind of lopsided in that department. But you know, they have a good fan base and they travel well.”
This also can happen elsewhere, but prior to this recent sour stretch for the Giants it rarely happened to them during the regular season. The team once had a fan base with thousands of potential season-ticket holders on a yearslong waiting list.
Sunday’s turnout could be viewed as especially disconcerting because it was just four weeks ago that Dart and the Giants beat the rival Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife and optimism was through the roof — in large part because of New York’s young quarterback.
Dart was the Giants’ first-round draft pick earlier this year out of Ole Miss. He started his college career at USC, another winning college program. He played his senior season at Utah powerhouse Corner Canyon High School. He hasn’t experienced any extended runs of losing in his career — at least not like what he has seen lately.
The Giants (2-7) are 11-32 since the start of 2023 and likely headed toward another losing season after dropping their third straight game Sunday.
The fan base frustration was evident among the planes again flying over the stadium before the game addressing owner John Mara.
One banner read: “Mr. Mara Enough is Enough – Clean House.”
This is a season in which ownership had mandated that coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen produce better results. The way the team lost Sunday and the optics from it can’t help their cause.
“We’ve got to continue to improve here,” Daboll said following the loss. “Again, there’s some things that I think are improving, and there’s some things that are not. But to be 2-7, yeah, look, we are not where we need to be.”
The positive for the Giants is that Dart continues to look the part. He threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another in the loss to San Francisco. Though he struggled at times, he battled to the end.
Finding and developing a quarterback was the Giants’ No. 1 priority heading into the offseason.
The reality is that Dart’s success or lack thereof is likely to factor into any decisions on the Giants current regime at the end of this season. Still, it’s not something he wants to put on his shoulders.
“I can only control what I can control. I don’t want to look at things that way,” Dart said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself in any regard. I want to just live in the moment that I have. I want to take advantage of the opportunities that I have. As a team, we should be thinking that same way.”
