EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaxson Dart tucked himself into a corner of a cramped media room as Russell Wilson stood at the podium discussing the New York Giants’ 31-12 win over the New York Jets in Saturday’s preseason game.
Dart playfully stuck his fingers in his ears when Wilson was asked to comment on the rookie’s dazzling performance. It was a lighthearted moment that belied an awkwardness that is sure to mushroom if Dart continues to thrive.
It’s impossible not to get excited about what Dart has shown in his first two appearances in NFL games. He followed an impressive debut last Saturday in Buffalo with an even better performance against the Jets.
Dart completed 14-of-16 passes (including 13 straight to finish his night) for 137 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He added a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak.
Jaxson Dart is fired up after the QB sneak TD 🔥
Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/u0nPFa69Tc— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2025
Dart looked exceptionally comfortable operating a no-huddle attack that was catered to his strengths from Ole Miss’ offense. He got the ball out quickly, marching down the field with a succession of crisp passes on a pair of touchdown drives against Jets backups in the third quarter.
Dart’s impressive start has left coach Brian Daboll to walk a fine line. It’s no secret that Daboll was a major driver in the decision to trade a pair of third-round picks to move up from No. 34 to No. 25 to land Dart. As Daboll said to Dart as he signed off on a phone call on draft night, “I’m banking on you.”
So there’s no hiding from how important Dart is to Daboll, who enters his fourth season with the Giants on thin ice after going 9-25 the past two seasons. Daboll put himself in position to land the Giants’ head coaching job in 2022 based mainly on his role in developing Josh Allen from a raw first-round pick to an MVP-level quarterback in Buffalo.
If Daboll can repeat that process with Dart, they’ll be together for the next decade. Of course, that type of talk is far too premature after two preseason starts. Even Daboll noted that, “we’ve played a couple of preseason games against probably some vanilla looks.”
And Daboll was sure to dismiss any hint of a quarterback controversy when asked if there’s anything Dart can do to get in the starting mix.
“Russ is our starter, and we’re going to keep developing Jaxson,” Daboll said.
Daboll again referenced that they have a “plan” for Dart. There was also a plan in Buffalo during Allen’s rookie season when Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator and Giants general manager Joe Schoen was the team’s assistant GM. However, any notion of developing Allen on the bench was scrapped less than three quarters into the season opener when the Nathan Peterman-led Bills fell into a 40-0 hole to the Ravens. Allen replaced Peterman in that game and was the starter the following week.
The Giants are in a much better position to avoid such a rash departure from their plan. Wilson is a proven veteran with a potential Hall of Fame pedigree. He represents a bridge option that should prevent the Giants from forcing an acceleration of Dart’s timeline.
However, Wilson is only a stopgap to Dart. And the clock ticks louder with every impressive showing from Dart.
“It’s a big priority for us to help him improve,” Daboll said.
Dart was thrown into action unexpectedly in the second quarter against the Jets, replacing Wilson one play into a drive. Dart said his first reaction was, “Serious?” He then promptly flipped a sidearm screen to tight end Theo Johnson, who rumbled for a 30-yard gain. Wilson was reinserted for the next snap to finish the drive — just another wrinkle in Daboll’s development plan.
“You’re trying to put these young quarterbacks in as many situations as you can, so that’s what we did,” Daboll said.
Jaxson Dart on coming in for that one snap with #giants starters.
“I had no idea. I’m thinking we’re gonna get into it. … When your number is called, do the best you can do.” pic.twitter.com/jqkEDmZ7KS
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) August 17, 2025
Dart took the field with the Giants’ first-team offense on the final possession of the first half. Working with the starters has been a rarity for Dart, who received a single rep with the first-team offense in the first practice of training camp.
That was his only unsuccessful drive, as he threw underthrew rookie Beaux Collins on a back-shoulder fade on second down with right guard Evan Neal getting beat. Left tackle James Hudson got beat inside on third-and-6 from the Jets’ 42-yard line, causing Dart to escape the pocket to his right. He was a shoestring tackle by defensive lineman Kingsley Jonathan away from finding an entire side of the field vacant.
“(That’s) going to haunt me for a little bit,” Dart said. “If I had gotten my feet up, I would have scored.”
Dart said he spoke with the coaches at halftime and expressed his desire to push the tempo. The Giants exclusively operated from the no-huddle on his next two drives as Dart found his rhythm. It speaks volumes that Daboll is soliciting input from a rookie quarterback.
“There are a lot of conversations,” Dart said. “I think it’s really unique. You talk to guys all around the league, and rookies being able to have input to the coaches, that’s not very common at times. I think that our relationship from the players to the coaches has been top-notch since I got here.
“They put me in good situations, they let me express the things that I like that I feel confident in running. And the tempo drives, I felt comfortable in that.”
On the first touchdown drive, Dart drilled a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Montrell Washington on an in-route. Then he went through his progressions to find running back Dante Miller open for a 6-yard gain on third-and-4. That set up a beautiful 20-yard touchdown strike to tight end Greg Dulcich. Dart faked a pitch to Miller and then waited for Dulcich to get open up the seam before pulling the trigger.
“That was a look that we kind of missed on,” Dart said. “We weren’t on the same page the week before. It happened exactly how we kind of prepared for it to be.”
On the next drive, Dart remained decisive and efficient. He hit Miller on a check-down on third-and-8, and the speedy back bolted for a 9-yard gain. Dart found former Ole Miss teammate Juice Wells on a play-action rollout for an 11-yard gain to set up his 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Even with Dart’s playing time for the night completed, the coaching continued. Daboll made his way down the sideline to watch with Dart as No. 3 quarterback Jameis Winston faced a third down in the red zone late in the third quarter.
“You learn together,” Daboll said. “For a young quarterback, you grow together and that’s what we’re doing.”
Wilson completed 4-of-7 passes for 108 yards, no touchdowns and an interception on four drives. The majority of his production came on an 80-yard bomb to Collins on a patented moon ball to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary on the Giants’ opening possession.
Wilson’s next two drives resulted in punts, and he finished his night with an interception on a miscommunication with Collins when the rookie broke to the post and the quarterback lofted a deep ball to the corner.
Wilson is mostly in control of how long he’s able to keep Dart waiting in the wings — both in the postgame media room and on the depth chart. If Wilson plays well, the Giants will stick to Plan A, which is riding the veteran and allowing Dart to develop behind the scenes.
However, if Wilson struggles, it will become impossible to keep Dart on the bench given his strong preseason performance.
Only Daboll knows when the inevitable transition will come. All Dart can do is continue to improve so he’ll be ready whenever that moment arrives.
“They’ve done it with so many other quarterbacks,” Dart said. “I trust them in the process. So I’m really just focused on each and every day, how can I get better?”
(Photo: Ishika Samant / Getty Images)
