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If the Grinch was surprised by the caroling in a victimized Whoville, he never would have believed the cheerful sounds echoing Sunday inside MetLife Stadium.

The welcoming roar for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart during pregame introductions and before taking his first snap. The long-dormant “Let’s Go Giants!” chant in the fourth quarter. The “Back in the New York Groove” song to punctuate touchdowns.

Most of all, the celebratory eruption from 81,954 fans as the Giants closed out a 21-18 victory with a fourth-quarter defensive shutout against the previously unbeaten Chargers to end a season-opening three-game skid and ease the pain of likely losing star receiver Malik Nabers to a campaign-ending torn ACL in his right knee.

“It’s kind of like a weight released off you to finally get in that column,” said Brian Burns, whose punt-forcing sack in the final three minutes was one of the game’s biggest plays.

All the sounds of winning replaced the expected pregame hum in the sky of three planes that were supposed to be carrying angry banner messages from fans but reportedly were canceled due to winds.

“It was just special to get the first one,” Dart said after his first career start. “This is just the start.”

Replacing the benched Russell Wilson, Dart engineered an 89-yard touchdown drive that highlighted his athleticism on his first possession. He capped it with a 15-yard run through a parted sea of defenders.

“The confidence he carries himself with and the swagger he has is contagious,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “Him in the huddle, it was a completely different type of energy — and that’s nothing against Russell [Wilson]. The determination he plays with and the detail he plays with is huge — and it makes me want to run through a brick wall for him.”

The Giants led for the final 54 minutes. It was the blueprint that allows their vaunted pass rush to tee off.

“It helps a lot when you go out on the opening drive and score a touchdown,” Darius Slayton said. “We haven’t done that the greatest. If we continue to do that, the crowd will continue to stay in it. You have to give them something to cheer about. That energy, that swell, gives the guys a boost.”

The defense offered plenty of help to its Quarterback of the Future.

Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Burns combined for 20 quarterback pressures, 12 quarterback hits and two sacks, and the normally allergic-to-takeaways Giants picked off two passes. Dexter Lawrence and Dru Phillips both returned their interceptions of Justin Herbert inside the 5-yard line, setting up 10 easy points.

“Everybody ate,” Burns said. “Respectfully.”

The good vibes created by Dart feeding the ball to Nabers were temporarily drained from the stadium early in the second quarter, when Nabers’ knee buckled while jumping for a pass.

After writhing in pain as the Giants’ sideline emptied to check on him, Nabers left the field on a cart, with his face buried in a towel and the fear that an MRI on Monday will confirm he is facing a long road to recovery.

“We love him, we’re praying for him, but we had a game to finish,” Slayton said. “We wouldn’t have done him any good by not going out there and continuing to compete.”

The buzz kill drive ended in a field goal that put the Giants in front 13-3 but had Dart limping through a hamstring injury. He later was checked for an unrelated concussion, leading to two missed snaps and a Wilson strip-sack fumble recovery.

Dart finished 13 of 20 for 111 yards plus 10 carries for 54 yards. He accounted for two touchdowns and made embattled head coach Brian Daboll look smart for pushing the Giants to draft him in April and making the ultimate call Tuesday to play a rookie quarterback sooner than others in the organization would have liked.

“For a young player to come out here in his first game against a 3-0 team — with Herbert as quarterback, and the defense the way they were playing — I think it says a lot about our guys. I think it says a lot about No. 6 (Dart),” Daboll said. “He gutted it out. A tough son of a you know what. But I knew that.”

Dart shoveled a touchdown pass to Theo Johnson — a play offensive coordinator Mike Kafka ripped from the Chiefs playbook — and handed off to Skattebo for a two-point conversion.

But the Giants left the game in their defense’s hands when they couldn’t build on a 21-18 lead.

First-and-goal at the 4-yard line played out like this: Skattebo 3-yard run, Skattebo no gain, Dart 2-yard loss and a scrambling incompletion to a leaping Wan’Dale Robinson that was jarred loose on a big hit.

“I literally had it and I was like, ‘Where the f–k did he come from? Boom!” Robinson said. “I was like, ‘Easy stud.’ Great play by him. Obviously wish I tried to turn my back or something.”

The Giants had closers, though.

Dart completed a third-and-5 pass to Johnson to drain the Chargers of timeouts and Cor’Dale Flott tackled Quentin Johnston in bounds as the clock ran out for any thoughts of another crazy long field goal against the Giants.

“Felt amazing to get a win,” Thibodeaux said, “but we have to get used to it.”