Giants beat Titans, 12-7, lose Brian Burns in first game without Jaxson Dart

Pat Leonard, New York Daily News on Sep 27, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — The New York Giants fortunately fell into a win in their first game without Jaxson Dart, beating the inept Tennessee Titans, 12-7, at MetLife Stadium.

But it came at a price.

Edge rusher Brian Burns went down with an apparent right knee injury with 11:02 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Giants maintaining a 12-0 shutout.

Burns did not practice all week due to a sprained left ankle, but John Harbaugh dressed the veteran anyway. He got hurt on his 23rd snap of the game.

Cam Ward and the Titans offense coached by ex-Giants coach Brian Daboll — which had only one first down on six possessions at halftime — promptly scored their first touchdown after Burns’ injury.

Ward hit former Giant Wan’Dale Robinson for a touchdown with 5:35 remaining. That narrowed a Giants lead built on four Dominic Zvada field goals to a one-score lead.

Then the Giants punted, and safety Elijah Campbell interfered with Titans punt returner Chimere Dike on the catch. That 15-yard penalty gave the Titans starting field position at their own 23-yard line instead of the 8 with 3:03 to play.

Ward and the Titans drove all the way down to the red zone and had first-and-goal at the Giants’ 7-yard line with 24 seconds remaining. But then Ward threw an interception to safety Jevon Holland to seal the Giants' win.

Holland now has a takeaway in all three games this season. The Giants (2-1) will host the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday, and it’s anybody’s guess what the quarterback room looks like then.

Jameis Winston completed 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards on Sunday, but the offense managed only 238 total yards on a measly 4.1 yards per play average. And there were countless leaks on Sunday morning to national insiders about how much work the Giants were doing on the phones around the league trying to upgrade the QB room and their team.

The rainy, windy game was ugly.

Giants defensive players Tremaine Edmunds (first half) and Dru Phillips (second half) dropped Ward passes that should have been intercepted, and Titans safety Amani Hooker (first half) dropped a Winston pass intended for Odell Beckham Jr. that should have been picked in the first half.

The crowd chanted for OBJ to get the ball in the second half, but he never touched it.

Ward’s interception was greeted with cheers and loud bangs in the press box from Giants employees who understood how bad a loss to the Titans would have been.

Burns was carried off the field by teammates Aaron Stinnie and Andrew Thomas. Fullback Pat Ricard walked back to the locker room afterward, too.

But at least Harbaugh could address his team after a win — a victory they badly needed to keep hope in anything alive.

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