Just about the only thing that makes the 2-10 Giants an attractive team for the NFL to feature in primetime is watching Jaxson Dart play quarterback.
With all due respect to Jameis Winston, who played pretty well for two games (and even had a fun trick-play touchdown catch) while Dart was in the concussion protocol, the world wants to see the rookie first-round pick.
So it’s quite timely that Dart will be back in the lineup when the Giants face the 10-2 Patriots on Monday night in New England. But now the Giants must do everything in their power to keep him healthy, and that means reining in his relentless desire to fight for every yard.
“You’re never going to take that mindset away from him. That’s the main reason as to why he is who he is, but being able to understand when you need to put the cape on and when it’s OK to go ahead and slide,” interim offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. “I think that’s part of the process for these younger quarterbacks coming into the league is just understanding, you always have that mindset of, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to go get that last yard.’ Well, a yard with 12 minutes to go in the first quarter is a little bit different than a yard to go with 10 seconds to go in the game.”
Dart has been evaluated for a concussion four times this year (three regular seasons games and one preseason game), and he finally had one on Dec. 2 in Chicago when his head hit the ground during a fumble.
At least that’s what the Giants told the media during those games. In his first public comments Friday since the injury, Dart said the “narrative” that he’s had four concussion checks isn’t true because three times he went into the medical tent “for things that had nothing to do with my head.”
Semantics aside, Dart has been shaken up on too many tackles from defenders. It’s not so much about the Giants needing to design fewer runs for their quarterback, who has special mobility, but rather that they should coach the rookie to slide more often and avoid unnecessary hits.
Brian Daboll seemed unfazed by the amount of physical contact Dart faced as the head coach was fighting to win games and keep his job. And, well, that ultimately cost him his job as Dart’s concussion coincided with the Giants’ fourth straight loss at the time.
Daboll’s firing affected Dart just as much as the pain he felt while standing on the sideline watching the last two games, helpless as the Giants again blew fourth-quarter leads against the Packers and Lions.
“It’s really special to come to a place where a coach genuinely cares about you and loves you and you have that personal relationship on and off the field,” Dart said. “I just have all the respect in the world for him. I think he’s an incredible offensive mind. He’s done an amazing job developing me up to this point.”
Dart’s next big point of development, more than any way he reads defenses, has to be about doing everything in his power to stay on the field.
He said the main takeaway from the Bears game was that he needs to be more mindful of his body when he loses control of the football.
“When I look back at the game, there’s not a hit where I’m like, dang, I shouldn’t have taken that hit, to be honest,” Dart said. “I felt like I was making smart decisions. I didn’t take really any unnecessary hits. That was just a situation where you kind of lose control of your body when you fumble it and you’re not really bracing for the ground. But obviously, moving forward, now I’ve got to be more available for this team, so that’s obviously on the forefront of my mind going forward.”
And with that comes a burning desire to help the Giants finish games. They still haven’t won since knocking off the Eagles in primetime on Oct. 9. They have blown four fourth-quarter leads in the last six games.
“I’ve just come to realize that in the NFL, if you don’t make those crunch-time moment plays and the other team does, you’re going to lose, and it doesn’t really matter how well you play up until the end of the game,” Dart said. “At times, it honestly doesn’t even feel real because you feel like you’re in control of the entire game and somehow things just don’t work. That’s just the beauty of the sport is it could go one way, it could go the other way.”
Greg Johnson covers the New York Giants and NFL for MediaNews Group. Reach him at [email protected].
Giants Gameday
The Game: Giants (2-10) at Patriots (10-2), Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The Line: New England by 7.5
History: The all-time series is tied, 7-7, with the Giants winning the most recent meeting in East Rutherford in 2023. The series is most famous for featuring two Super Bowls that the Giants won in 2008 and 2012.
Key Matchups:
Giants LT Andrew Thomas/RT Jermaine Eluemunor vs. Patriots OLBs Harold Landry/K’Lavon Chaisson: The Giants’ tackles have played well in consecutive weeks against top edge-rushing tandems on Green Bay and Detroit and face another this week. Landry and Chaisson have combined for 13 tackles and 29 QB hits.
Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson vs. Patriots CB Marcus Jones: Robinson is coming off a career-high 156 yards with a touchdown in Detroit. Jones has been one of the NFL’s top play-making corners with 11 passes defended, three interceptions and a pick-six.
Giants OLB Abdul Carter vs. Patriots LT Vederian Lowe: Carter is running out of opportunities to make game-changing plays in his rookie season. New England has lost starting LT Will Campbell to an injury, so Carter now has a softer matchup on that side. Lowe was a sixth-round pick in 2022.
Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott vs. Patriots WR Stefon Diggs: The Giants could again be without two starters in the secondary including their top corner. Diggs leads New England in targets (75), receptions (61) and receiving yards (679).
Injury Report:
Giants: OUT: OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder); QUESTIONABLE: LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck/knee), CB Korie Black (bicep), LB Swayze Bozeman (hip), OLB Victor Dimukeje (knee).
Patriots: OUT: S Brenden Schooler (ankle), G Jared Wilson (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: LB Harold Landry (knee), DT Khyiris Tonga (chest).
Giant Facts: The Giants’ five blown double-digit leads this season (all in road games) tie the NFL record. … The Giants’ 10 20+ yard completions last Sunday were the most in an NFL game since at least 1991. … The Giants have scored a touchdown on their opening drive in six games this season. They did so six times total between the 2021 and 2024 seasons.
The Prediction: Patriots 24, Giants 17
