And a child shall lead them.
Or try to.
Of course, Jaxson Dart is not a child, but at age 22 he is one of the youngest players on the Giants roster. He is not one of the five team captains, so he is not designated as a leader.
He is the quarterback, though, and he unquestionably has traits and a personality that make him someone others want to follow.
As tough as the losing is for Dart, he is new at this, and he can think about a brighter tomorrow.
Not so much for many of his older teammates.
Dart is doing what he can to convince the veterans not to lose faith.
“I’m definitely optimistic, and fortunately for me, I’m really young,’’ Dart said. “So, there’s time to make adjustments, and obviously we want it now, and a lot of things haven’t really gone our way this year. But I know that eventually we’re going to reach the place that we want to be.
“For the vets, I know that it’s really hard for them, because a lot of the guys know they’ve experienced this for consecutive years. And I think the biggest thing is for a lot of us young guys, we’re telling them eventually this is going to turn around, and it’s going to all be worth it. So, I think that we just have a really mature team, and it’s definitely hard, but we’re trying our best to overcome it and take the right mindset for steps forward.’’
The next step comes Sunday against the Vikings at MetLife Stadium. The Giants are 2-12 and Dart is 2-7 as a starter.
“The biggest thing is just try to keep the spirits up and encourage everybody in the locker room,’’ he said.
Rookie OLB Abdul Carter is coming off the best game of the season — one sack, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three tackles for loss — and the Giants hope the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft finishes off Year 1 strong.
“As coaches, we obviously think we have all the answers and we have the formula,’’ interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen said. “But there’s an element of it that the players have to experience it and feel that for themselves.
“And so as young players are navigating their careers and their rookie seasons, there is a lot of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ As time goes on, experiencing that and seeing those things come to life and those moments where, OK, maybe I do need to do this or that, I think that’s a huge part of it. I think it’s been apparent to him as he’s moved forward.’’
Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux’s disappointing season officially came to a premature end on Saturday when the Giants put him on season-ending injured reserve.
Thibodeaux, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft, last appeared in a game Nov. 9 in Chicago and has been sidelined ever since with a shoulder injury.
He said it was important for him to come back and play down the stretch, but the Giants decided to shut him down for the final three games.
In 10 starts in his fourth season with the Giants, Thibodeaux produced 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits and 25 total tackles.
The Giants picked up his fifth-year option, which guarantees him $14.75 million for the 2026 season.
CB Art Green came off IR to take Thibodeaux’s place on the roster. K Ben Sauls and DL Elijah Chatman were activated from the practice squad.
