Giants QB Jaxson Dart faces more scrutiny as he takes the wheel in Week 1 vs. Cowboys
Jaxson Dart of the Giants prepares for a game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Jaxson Dart took the field Sunday night for some more firsts in his Giants journey, including his first season-opening start at quarterback.
It’s not his Sunday Night Football debut since Dart entered for three plays last year in a Week 3 loss to Kansas City. But it’s his first SNF game as a starter, with the expectations and demands that come with leading a team.
It also means more scrutiny. For all of Dart’s hype and praise, there’s still questions from outside observers if he can truly be that franchise quarterback. With his first start on NBC, those questions will be louder
Cris Collinsworth, analyst for Sunday Night Football, watched all of Dart’s games in one day leading up to the broadcast. While he praised Dart, he was also balanced being cautious about his flaws.
“He’s an exciting football player. I don’t know what he’s going to do on a given play,” Collinsworth said on a conference call last week with reporters. “He makes some sensational plays. He missed some reads that I would be mad if my high school quarterback missed on occasion, or gets hit, or doesn’t see something coming. His scramble runs look like he’s running for his life out there, diving headfirst and not sliding.”
Former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who joined NBC’s Football Night in America crew this year, echoed that balance. He compared Dart to Baker Mayfield as an emotional competitor and said every player has a chance to grow in their second year.
But he also had questions not just about Dart, but the changes around him that could affect his growth.
“I think during your second lap around the track, you know where the turns are,” Tomlin said on a conference call. “There’s been fluidity to it. I think it tees you up for better play with that life experience.
“But at the same time, I’ll temper that excitement because he doesn’t have continuity in terms of play calling and coaching staff, and I think you maximize that get-better from year one to year two when somebody’s in a stable environment.”
The tempered praise is a fair counterpoint to the optimism around Dart. While the Giants want to believe he is ready for a second-year jump, he has to prove it to outside the facility, too.
Dart came in 24th in The Athletic’s annual preseason quarterback rankings. An anonymous defensive coach said Dart offers “more athleticism, playmaking ability, and splash plays than consistency.”
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky told Newsday that Dart needs to be more consistent with his footwork. That’s an even greater challenge with learning a new offense and playing under center more.
“Him displaying that growth and development when it comes to his feet and playing on time and on rhythm - that's the two areas where you sit there and say those are realistic areas for growth,” Orlovsky said. Orlovsky also posted a stat on X that showed another area of growth for Dart. His time from snap to sack last season was an average of 5.68 seconds. That meant he held on to the ball too long and defenses made him pay.
It’s all fair criticism for a player who carries the Giants’ future on his shoulders. Sunday was the start of silencing the doubters but he’s got 18 weeks to make a full case he’s learned from his rookie year.
“I feel like I'm not even the same person at all,” Dart said this week. “Obviously, the growth that you make from the experiences that you have from one year to the next. And I just feel like I've grown a ton through this offseason. So, I feel comfortable.”
That comfort has to translate to better play and better results. Collinsworth added that even with his critique of Dart, he enjoyed watching his tape and called it fun and entertaining. It’s up to Dart to channel that excitement into something more substantial. And Collinsworth, like many, are eager to see what happens after Sunday night.
“I think he’s going to come out rip roaring. I know (the Giants) are going to try to calm him down and they’re going to try to make sure he doesn’t get hurt and all that. But I’m not sure he has that in his gene pool.
“It just looks like he’s one of those all-out, all-the-time, every-play kind of guys. It’s fun to watch. It really is.”
The Giants can only hope that fun leads to Dart being the player who helps Harbaugh’s first season be part of the rebuild they need. One game Sunday didn’t answer all the questions around Dart’s potential.
It’s just the first step to show if he’s capable of challenging the doubters and taking positive strides while focusing on the Giants’ bigger goals.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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