The sting of suffering his first loss as starting quarterback for the New York Giants made Jaxson Dart speak up, and the rookie knows who’s to blame for the 26-14 defeat to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5.
Shortly after losing on the road, Dart told reporters, including ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, “This one is on me.” When asked why he’s to blame for the defeat, the first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft replied simply, “I’m the leader of the offense.
Those words represent a bold show of leadership from Dart, but they also form a curious take. Especially when the Giants committed five turnovers at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, October 5, while a supposedly star-studded pass rush failed to register a single sack.
The truth is there’s plenty of blame to go around for the Giants coming crashing back down to earth. Dart looked like he’d provided the spark after leading Big Blue to an upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers last week, but the 25th-overall pick looked more like a struggling rookie in just his second start.
Jaxson Dart Facing a Tough Reality Check
Reality bit hard for Dart and the Giants in New Orleans. All of the issues that were still there, even after Russell Wilson was sent to the bench, resurfaced all at once to leave the Giants‘ first-year signal-caller under siege.
Dart took a sack and five hits, per ESPN, as well as losing a fumble and throwing a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter. Both picks were snatched by cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, including this one when Dart was out of sync with fellow rookie, undrafted free agent Beaux Collins.
Accounting for three of the five turnovers committed by the Giants is why Dart wanted to step forward and take the blame, but ball security was far from his only issue. The former Ole Miss standout will also be haunted by the throws he couldn’t make.
A throw like this flea-flicker, highlighted by Empire Sports Media’s Alex Wilson, when Dart had a wide-open receiver but didn’t put enough arm into the pass, cost the Giants a much-needed chunk play.
The missed connection summed up Dart’s problems with timing and decision-making throughout the game, but he was hardly helped by a Giants team weak in multiple key areas.
Giants Not Helping Rookie Quarterback
Dart won’t say it, but he could feel justified about being frustrated with teammates and coaches. First, with head coach Brian Daboll, for not elevating at least one of three eligible wide receivers to help cover the injury-enforced absence of star pass-catcher Malik Nabers.
Daboll’s decision left the offense thin at a crucial position, and the Giants were punished when Darius Slayton left the field with a hamstring problem. A short-handed group of wideouts struggled to keep up with the pace of an ill-fated comeback.
The issue was emphasized by Dan Duggan of The Athletic, who noted “Giants WRs looked gassed after all this hurry-up in the fourth quarter with no timeouts. Lil’Jordan Humphrey left home with two open roster spots…”
Not having enough receivers was damaging enough to Dart, but it was far from the only reason he struggled. Consistent frailty in pass-protection also played its part.
Dart rarely got to throw from a clean pocket after two early scoring drives. He was swarmed on by a steady stream of pressure thanks to breakdowns in blocking.
One of the more notable collapses involved rookie running back Cam Skattebo. The latter missed his assignment, even though it “Sure looked like Andrew Thomas expected Cam Skattebo to block that edge rusher. Skattebo didn’t and Jaxson Dart almost got killed,” per Duggan.
This wasn’t even the worst moment of Skattebo’s day. His fumble in the red zone, returned 86 yards for a touchdown by safety Jordan Howden, took momentum permanently away from the Giants in the final period.
Skattebo’s gaffe was one of many ways the Giants failed their young QB1. Daboll changed quarterbacks to halt a losing run, but Dart will struggle just as much as Wilson if the Giants can’t play complementary football around the most important position.
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