A historic compilation of the greatest debuts from a New York Giants starting QB.

 

George Shaw 1959:

In George Shaw’s first of two years as a Giant, the signal caller out of University of Oregon defeated the Chicago Cardinals 9-3 at Yankee Stadium November 1959. Shaw was 9 out of 13 for 126 yards throwing no touchdowns and an interception and his rating was 68.1. All scoring on the day accounted for four field goals including three by Pat Summerall. Shaw’s numbers were far from remarkable but filling in for star quarterback Charlie Conerly due to a twisted ankle, the understudy gave the Giants a win to improve to 6-1. New York finished 10-2 and won the NFL East Division and fell to the Colts in the NFL Championship game for the second straight year. Some irony to it is that George Shaw was on the 1958 World Champion Baltimore Colts in 1958 that beat the Giants in “The Greatest Game Ever Played” then was on the opposing sideline as a Giant losing to the Colts the following year.

Y.A. Tittle 1961:

After coming to NY in a trade from San Francisco, the future Hall of Famer took the Giants to the NFL Title game falling to Green Bay. In his Big Blue starting debut October of ’61 Tittle, after coming off the bench in two of the prior three games earned the start for the 2-1 Giants and led them to victory 24-9 over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr. was 11 for 18 with 105 passing yards, had a 95.8 rating, and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Del Shofner in the second quarter.

Fran Tarkenton 1967:

In Tarkenton’s first season as a Giant after previously serving as the Vikings field general, another future Hall of Fame quarterback led them to a win in his starting debut. Going from the Purple People Eaters to Big Blue, Tarkenton dominated the St. Louis Cardinals on the road 37-20 in the season opener. Tarkenton, 7/19 232 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions heaved a 70-yard touchdown to Homer Jones, a 38-yarder to Jones, and a 33-yard touchdown toss into the arms of Del Shofner while sporting a 123.2 rating.

Randy Johnson 1971:

No, not the Hall of Fame lefthanded pitcher. In a rough 4-10, 1971 Giants season Randy Johnson received the start in the season’s final game in a 41-28 loss to the Eagles at Yankee Stadium. Johnson, 30/47 372 passing yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions threw a 45-yard touchdown toss to Joe Morrison, a 2-yard TD strike to Rich Kotite (known years later as the Jets coach), and a 27-yard dart to Bob Tucker for six points.

Craig Morton 1974:

The longtime division adversary with Dallas; Morton was traded from the Cowboys to the Giants midway through the 1974 campaign post Norm Snead being traded to San Francisco. Morton led the Giants to their second and final win in a dismal 2-12 season in a 33-27 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in November of ’74. Morton, 17 of 33 for 256 yards in the air and two touchdowns including a touchdown pass for 51 yards to Joe Dawkins in the fourth quarter and a 97.5 rating helped the Giants fend off the Chiefs in his second game (first start) as a Giant.

Daniel Jones 2019:

After the unpopular decision to bench Eli Manning, Daniel Jones started week three at Tampa Bay. In the second quarter Jones ran 7 yards for a rushing touchdown. At halftime the Buccaneers led 28-10. On the Giants first play from scrimmage in the third Jones passed to Evan Engram who eluded a tackle and scurried down the sideline and into the end zone for 6 points on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Engram. Afterwards on the 2-point conversion Jones found Sterling Shepard wide open as Shepard walked in for two points and it was 28-18. Later, on third and goal Jones heaved a pass to a diving Shepard for a 7-yard TD toss and it was a 3-point game. Down by 6 with under 3 minutes remaining in the contest Jones engineered a 75-yard drive consisting of clutch catches by Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard then on fourth and five from the 7 Jones took it himself for a 7-yard QB rush for a touchdown with 1:16 to go. New York fended off Tampa Bay after the Bucs missed a field goal in the final seconds and the Giants were victorious 32-31. Jones was 23 for 36 with 336 passing yards and two touchdowns in the air while rushing for 28 yards and scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

Jaxson Dart 2025:

In his highly anticipated first NFL start Jaxson Dart shined brightly on a picturesque matinee at MetLife Stadium vs. the Chargers this past Sunday afternoon. Dart was 13 out of 20 for 111 yards and a touchdown toss and rushed for 54 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Ole Miss alum could not have started the day any better contriving a 9 play, 89-yard drive in 4:17 of game time on the Giants opening possession culminating with Jaxson darting 15 yards to the end zone. The Giants led 13-10 at the half then late in the third, Dart flung a 3-yard shovel pass to Theo Johnson for a touchdown ensued by a Cam Skattebo rush for a 2-point conversion. It was all smiles in East Rutherford as the Giants beat the Chargers 21-18. *One last tidbit. Giant rookie quarterbacks in recent memory all threw their first touchdown passes to tight ends. In November 2004 vs. Atlanta, Eli Manning threw his first career touchdown to Jeremy Shockey. In 2019 Daniel Jones threw his first touchdown strike to Evan Engram, and Jaxson Dart recently threw his first 6-point score to Theo Johnson.