Mike Kafka knows the learning curve is steep for Jaxson Dart, and the interim head coach of the New York Giants believes his rookie quarterback learned some lessons the hard way against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16.
Dart endured a disaster-class that ended with just 13 net passing yards. The first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft also threw an interception and took five sacks.
Deciphering the complex blitz schemes of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores proved too much for Dart, but he didn’t always help his own cause. Kafka was asked in his postgame press conference about how Dart “handled the pressure,” with the question focusing on the former Ole Miss star taking sacks when “he had a couple of opportunities to maybe throw the ball away.”
A telling response followed from Kafka, who accepted the premise of the question when he admitted, “as he learns and he sees more of these, the ability to get the ball out just a touch faster, you know, use some of those sights, keep his mind clear on it and not put himself in a bad spot, ’cause I thought he had some opportunities downfield. Sometimes, whether it’s a pop or someone gets into that window, you gotta hold it an extra tick longer. So that’s part of the growth process with it, but I thought Jaxson was seeing it clearly, and certainly the conversations we have on the sideline, you know he felt good about the plan as well.”
Those issues are part of a rookie taking his lumps in the big leagues, but there’s no doubt Dart has been regressing since Kafka replaced Brian Daboll. Kafka’s assertion Dart was on board with the gameplan against the Vikings is problematic for those thought the Giants were too “conservative” against the blitz.
Mike Kafka Defends “Conservative” Jaxson Dart Plan vs. Vikings
It’s getting difficult for Kafka to hide his culpability in Dart struggling each week. Trusting the 22-year-old to put games on his throwing arm is still some ways off on Kafka’s watch, after Dart aired it out just 13 times this week.
Instead, Kafka stayed tethered to the run. So much so, “the Giants ran the ball 15 times before Jaxson Dart put the ball in the air,” according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.
Kafka wasn’t about to critique his own strategy, so he maintained “the Giants ran the ball more to minimize the Vikings’ pressure, not necessarily being conservative. Said team had missed opportunities as well (meaning the Giants drops),” per Newsday Sports reporter Evan Barnes.
Protecting Dart from himself has been an issue for the Giants, but it’s usually involved getting the feisty mobile QB to be smarter about when he runs. So trying to subject him to less pressure made sense when the Vikings lead the NFL with a blitz percentage of 43, according to Pro Football Reference.
Yet, for all their efforts to safeguard Dart, the Giants still couldn’t protect him when the Vikings sent extra rushers. Those struggles led Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News to conclude “Mike Kafka didn’t know how to protect Jaxson Dart against Brian Flores today.”
It looked like a valid charge when Dan Duggan of The Athletic noted “If you’re going to go empty against this defense, the ball has to come out fast. Rare immediate pressure off the left edge with a four-man rush forced Dart to step into a sack on fourth-and-5.”
Leaving an inexperienced quarterback alone in the backfield against a pressure-crazed defense was always going to be a risky strategy for Kafka. Even if Dart still did some things wrong.
Giants QB Has 6-Word Response to Nightmare Game
Dart knows he needs to bounce back. He said as much when he offered a six-word response to the what Duggan called “Dart’s Eli rookie year game vs. Baltimore. It happens.”
When asked by reporters, including ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, what he can do to avoid a repeat, Dart simply said, “Just not let it happen again.”
Backing up those words, and justifying more positive comparisons to franchise great Eli Manning, will require Dart making quicker decisions with the ball. Particularly when a play has no chance, like when outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel closed in for another Vikings sack on fourth down.
Dart is still learning what he can and can’t do at the pro level. It’s a tough process, but showing he’s learning from mistakes will give the Giants some reason for optimism about the future.
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