Jaxson Dart shows off control, ability to bounce back in Giants' streak-ending win

Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has never been short on confidence, even as his rookie season has been marred by a concussion that cost him two games, the firing of the head coach who drafted him, and suffering through a streak of nine games without a win.

Coming off a down game a week ago, the Week 17 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, another lowly side stuck in a nine-game losing skid, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft dangling as a carrot to the loser, Dart was determined not to let an opportunity to earn a third career win slip away. 

"I was confident that we, as a team, were going to bounce back and play better," Dart said after the Giants’ 34-10 win. "I knew that I was going to play better this week. I liked the game plan. I feel like we got into a flow early and kind of just controlled the game from there on out. We were just super balanced, and it definitely felt good."

Interim head coach Mike Kafka said he was “really proud” of how the rookie quarterback “stepped up for the offense” and “how he responded” after last week’s poor showing against Minnesota.

“Did a really good job of controlling the game, managing the game, taking easy completions to start, and when he had opportunities downfield, his guys worked for him, and he got them the football,” the interim HC said. “He did a great job with his feet, whether it was designed runs or whether it was a scramble, either getting us back to the line of scrimmage or making plays with his legs and getting us first downs.

“I think for him to bounce back, it was something that we all saw in practice, and how he approached it. And then for him to come out here and do this in the game, I’m not surprised.”

Dart completed 22 of 30 passes for 207 yards (6.9 yards per attempt) and posted an 80.7 QBR and 91.9 passer rating. He did his best work with his legs, running for 48 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns. And most crucially, the rookie wisely stepped out of bounds on a few occasions to avoid taking any unnecessary hits.

For Dart, this is all part of the learning process.

“I'm going to continue to learn, I'm going to make mistakes here and there, and I'm going to bounce back from 'em,” the QB said. “I'm going to have some hits that I took early on that I saw as kind of saw as unnecessary, and then you just make adjustments. At the same time, you've got to continue to just play your game.

“You can't make somebody into somebody that they're not. Just felt like I definitely played smart and just got away from any of the unnecessary stuff."

Kafka said it isn’t easy for young players to deal with what can be the ups and downs of playing in the NFL, especially when you are tasked with leading the offense as the quarterback. 

“You gotta battle through that,” Kafka said. “You gotta keep your mind clear, not let the outside noise bog you down. And [Dart] didn’t let him affect him at all. He’s been great, he’s been great for me. And you saw him just execute early in the game, and he just kept on taking what the defense was giving him.”

Dart said the Riaders were playing a lot of “soft zone,” and he looked to find “windows in the zone,” which allowed him to play really efficiently. 

"I just felt like I was efficient, took what the defense gave me,” he said. “Didn't try to force the ball into unnecessary things when they're playing kind of a deep shell and trying to keep everything in front of them. 

“And sometimes, as quarterbacks, we can get a little impatient because you want to have a big play, and I felt like I just played eficient, used my legs, just felt like I was in a rhythm really."

Kafka saw this as a good “turning point” for the 22-year-old passer: He “let his playmakers make plays for him.”

“For him to see that, and continue to grow that way, is gonna be important,” he said. “Because there’s gonna be a time when he needs to put his Superman cape on to go make the plays, but the majority of the time, it’s just about operating and operating fast. And you saw that today.”  

The interim head coach, who began the season as the offensive coordinator before Brian Daboll was fired in November, said he’s had many “honest, upfront conversations” with Dart about what needs to be fixed and seen the rookie take those words to heart.

“He's always attacked it head-on, and he's always attacked it with the right approach and a growth mindset to understand he's going to get better,” Kafka said. “Any kind of coaching points we've given him, he's attacked in practice, he's attacked in the drills, his individual periods applied to the practice. 

“Then, when you see a game like this, watch him show his footwork, and his processing speed up in the game, that's why we have those things for him. I'm proud of how he responded."