EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaxson Dart leads the way he plays. That means the New York Giants rookie quarterback isn’t hiding from the past failures that have hung over the franchise like a dark cloud for the past decade. Instead, Dart is treating that negativity like a defender at the first-down marker. He’s running through it — headfirst.
Dart’s fearless style may be exactly what the Giants need to finally snap out of this prolonged funk. He was electric during — and after — Thursday’s stunning 34-17 domination of the Eagles.
“We can’t be naive to everything. We hear what people say. Definitely lights a fire in us,” Dart said. “I just think there’s, at times, some negativity that’s surrounding here. For us, some of the new guys that are coming here, we just got here, so we don’t feel like we were involved in the past.”
Dart completed 17-of-25 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 10 carries for 60 yards (excluding kneel downs) and a touchdown. While those stats are impressive, they don’t come close to telling the full story of the energy the rookie brought to his first career prime-time game and his first career division matchup.
“When you have a guy who can make loose plays, everything doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s a benefit. I’ve had guys like that before,” coach Brian Daboll said in an obvious reference to his time in Buffalo with reigning MVP Josh Allen. “This guy is a good guy to have.”
Daboll has been notoriously tight-lipped in news conferences during his four-year tenure. But he can’t hide his exuberance for Dart. That’s not a surprise since Daboll staked his career on the 22-year-old, benching Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson three games into the season and making sure the world knew it was “my decision.”
Daboll tried to catch himself and slip back into coach-speak a few times after Thursday’s win, making sure to point out that the victory wasn’t about one player and that the whole team played an important role. But he couldn’t help himself, always returning to shower more affection on the quarterback he fell in love with during the pre-draft process.
“I’ve liked everything about Dart since we got him,” Daboll said.
Daboll’s reliance on Dart was on full display late in the third quarter when the quarterback got sacked and his head and neck bent awkwardly. Dart immediately brought his hands to the sides of his helmet as he laid on the turf, prompting the Giants’ medical staff to come to his aid.
After being down for a few minutes, Dart got up and jogged to the medical tent on the sideline for a concussion exam. It was the third time Dart has visited the tent for a concussion check in his young career, and Daboll was impatiently waiting for his quarterback to get back on the field.
The tent is strictly off-limits to coaches, but Daboll poked his head in to check on Dart before Wilson even took a snap. Moments later, Daboll was berating head team physician Dr. Scott Rodeo on the sideline about the delay in getting Dart back onto the field, which was a wild scene in the concussion-conscious NFL.
“If you’ve ever been on an NFL sideline, there’s a lot of emotions,” Daboll said. “I certainly am an emotional guy. I apologized directly to our team physician. I just wanted (Dart’s) ass out there if he was OK. … You want your guy out there.”
The Giants punted and Dart returned for the next possession, again exasperated by the NFL’s concussion testing protocol.
“It felt so long,” Dart said. “I understand they have protocol and whatnot. I was just trying to get out there fast.”
The Giants went three-and-out on Dart’s first possession upon re-entry, and the Eagles then drove deep into New York’s territory. The Giants’ 27-17 lead was feeling tenuous until cornerback Cor’Dale Flott stepped in front of a pass from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts at New York’s 9-yard line and returned the interception 68 yards to Philadelphia’s 23. Dart’s rookie backfield partner Cam Skattebo then sealed the win with his third touchdown of the game.
Eagles driving… AND COR’DALE FLOTT IS GOING THE OTHER WAY.
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“It absolutely is (a statement win), because you have to have a lot of respect for that team,” Dart said. “They’ve just come off winning the Super Bowl. Top team in the league. Quite honestly, nobody really expected us to put up a performance like this. As a locker room, as teammates, we felt confident.”
Teammates have rallied around the youthful enthusiasm of Dart that materialized when he launched himself headfirst into Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell to pick up a first down on a third-and-3 scramble in the third quarter.
“He’s just playing fearless right now,” linebacker Brian Burns said. “I respect how he’s playing. Obviously, once he matures in his game, he’s going to take calculated risks. But as of right now, I’m going to let him rock out, and I just let him know we have his back.”
At some point, Dart will likely find the balance between running like a stuntman and protecting himself. But it doesn’t appear that will happen anytime soon.
Dart has explained his mentality as a rusher ad nauseam.
“There’s just situations where if it’s third down, I’m going to get the first down,” Dart said. “In my mind when I’m running the ball, I’m trying to get a few yards and put our team in a really good situation. I understand that you got to take care of your body. I definitely try to do my best with that. In situations where things are important, I’m going to do my best to get that done.”
Dart’s legs are what make him so dangerous. The Giants were faced with a third-and-8 at Philadelphia’s 20-yard line on their opening possession. The Eagles’ pass rush got immediate penetration, but Dart stepped up through the pressure. That left him alone with All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun in the open field. Dart blew past Baun with a subtle juke, then raced untouched into the end zone. The Giants have scored touchdowns on the opening possession of all three of Dart’s starts after doing so just four times in the previous 54 games under Daboll.
JAXSON DART DOES IT HIMSELF.
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Dart repeatedly used his legs to escape pressure by displaying an uncanny calmness despite having bodies all around him. His touchdown pass came on the Giants’ second possession after he stepped up in the pocket, started to escape to a clogged left side before rolling right and firing a bullet to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson did the rest, breaking a tackle and racing 35 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s got toughness, I think he sees the field well, he’s got athleticism, vision, leadership,” Daboll said. “But it’s three games in, 2-1 as a starting quarterback. But a lot to work on. He’ll be the first to tell you that. He’s a leader.”
Making Dart’s performance more impressive was that the Giants were without their top two wide receivers. Malik Nabers is out for the season with a torn ACL, and it’s painful to imagine how much more Dart could accomplish with the game-changing receiver in the lineup. Darius Slayton was sidelined Thursday by a hamstring injury that left Jalin Hyatt, who didn’t have a catch in the first five games, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who was elevated from the practice squad on Thursday, as the top perimeter weapons.
Humphrey stepped up with four catches for 55 yards, and even Hyatt added three catches for 17 yards while drawing a crucial pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up Skattebo’s final score.
Having that type of supporting cast limited Dart’s production, but he was tremendously efficient. The Giants converted 11-of-16 third downs (Dart, himself, was 11-of-15) and scored touchdowns on all three of their trips inside the red zone.
With the Giants plucking concepts from Ole Miss’ offense, Dart’s comfort level was obvious. He seemed to have answers for everything the Eagles’ defense threw at him, getting the ball out quickly and accurately all night.
Daboll capped the opening statement to his postgame news conference by saying, “It’s good to have a young leader like Dart.” Then he wrapped up his final answer to a question about how much the win meant to the fans by saying, “It’s good to have this young leader.”
Dart said the leadership role comes naturally. And he has fully embraced the tall task of leading the turnaround of this beleaguered franchise.
“I love it,” Dart said. “I understand the most important thing for everybody is winning. As competitors, that’s how we feel, too. I feel like this city is starving for that. We are starving for that. We hate losing. It’s the worst feeling in the world. We just try to do our best, regardless of what outside noise is, we try to keep everything internal between us. I have all the confidence in the world in every single player on this team.”
Everyone’s confidence in Dart will grow with a performance like Thursday night.
