As if New York Giants fans needed more reasons to believe in Jaxson Dart, finding out he has done things in his first three career starts that put him in the same company as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will only intensify the hype.
In the aftermath of the Giants’ 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, the NFL noted Dart joined Mahomes as the only quarterbacks since at least 1991 to lead their team to an opening-drive touchdown in each of their first three career starts.
Other milestones Dart hit include matching Jackson and Jalen Hurts as the only quarterbacks with at least 50 rushing yards in each of their first three career starts in the Super Bowl Era and first rookie quarterback to defeat the reigning Super Bowl MVP (Hurts) within his first three career starts.
In the grand scheme of things, these stats don’t really tell us anything about Dart’s long-term potential. How many people even knew there was someone keeping track of rookie quarterbacks facing the defending Super Bowl MVP in primetime?
The ways that Dart has gone about leading the Giants to opening drive touchdowns in his first three starts differs greatly from what Mahomes was doing with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes’ streak actually began in Week 17 of the 2017 season when he made a spot start in place of Alex Smith because the Chiefs had already secured a playoff berth. He also did it four consecutive games between the end of 2017 and first three games of 2018.
One area where Dart has excelled in keeping defenses honest is running the ball. He was regarded as a good athlete who was effective with the ball in his hands coming out of Mississippi.
The Giants have leaned heavily into that aspect of Dart’s game. He has 30 rushing attempts for 167 yards and two touchdowns in his three starts. Some of those runs have come on scramble plays, like his 19-yard touchdown against the Eagles.
This was a formula that the Ravens used when they inserted Jackson as their starter late in the 2018 season while giving him time to develop as a passer. He had at least 11 rushing attempts in each of his first seven starts as a rookie.
Dart has a long way to go before putting himself in the same company as someone like Mahomes or Jackson, but Giants fans have been starved for anything resembling competent quarterback play for so long that they should bask in this moment for as long as it lasts.
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