Giants hoping for no more interruptions to Jaxson Dart’s turbulent season with QB back vs. Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — He did not play in the game, but Jaxson Dart certainly looked engaged afterward, sitting in a corner of the visitors locker room inside Ford Field in Detroit, where three quarterbacks huddled together discussing what just transpired.
There was Dart, the rookie in his second week in concussion protocol.
There was Russell Wilson, a former star, now benched.
There was Jameis Winston, third string elevated into the starting job.
Winston did enough to win but, as usual, the Giants lost and the three quarterbacks were engrossed in conversation.
This looked and felt like a tutorial for Dart and he listened more than he spoke.
This trio broke down the game with one another and it was obvious the discussion was meaningful to all involved.
Jaxson Dart runs with the ball during the Giants’ Nov. 9 loss to the Bears. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It was tempting at that moment to wonder how having these two accomplished veterans around him every week, to watch, to lean on, to learn from will serve Dart in the years to come.
The foundation for what the Giants hope will be a lengthy career for Dart is being set in what has already been an enthralling, turbulent and frustrating NFL initiation.
It continues Monday night when Dart returns from a two-week hiatus to face the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in a meeting of the first-place home team and the last-place road team.
Jaxson Dart addresses reporters during his Nov. 28 press conference. Noah K. Murray for the NY Post
The Giants are 2-10, Dart is 2-5 as a starter and he has been indoctrinated into what life is all about with a team that cannot find its way.
Five times this season, the Giants held a lead in the fourth quarter, only to lose.
Dart has felt the pain of these defeats.
“The season so far has been tough because our record could completely be flipped the other way and everybody here is in a completely different state of mind,’’ Dart said. “But 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.
“So, 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 and when you’re playing at this level of competition, especially for me, I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter how you play at all until, who scores last, who has the ball last and who makes that last crucial play at the end of the game.’’
It will be quite an accomplishment if Dart can keep the Giants — losers of six straight — close for this game to come down to crucial plays at the end of the game.
The Patriots (10-2) are on a nine-game winning streak, their second-year quarterback, Drake Maye, is an MVP candidate and Mike Vrabel is the favorite to win the Coach of the Year award.
Dart’s head was slammed to the ground as he lost a fumble two weeks ago in Chicago and he did not make the required progress last week to get medical clearance to return to the field.
Add this to the long list of lessons for Dart to learn.
And also, patience.
“It’s hard,’’ he said. “I feel like every day goes by slower and you’re hoping and praying that you’re going to go in and pass your test to make it. I think I bit more nails off my fingers than I have in a long time being on the sideline watching. But yeah, it’s definitely not fun to feel like you have no control over the outcome of the game, but you just try to be the best teammate that you can.’’
Wilson and Winston have been tremendous teammates for Dart, making this particular quarterback room beneficial for a rookie to grow.
The Giants hope Dart can take it the rest of the way without any more interruptions.
