Quarterback Jaxson Dart will start for the Giants on Monday Night Football, interim head coach Mike Kafka confirmed before Friday’s practice. The rookie cleared concussion protocol on Thursday.
Dart, the No. 25 overall draft pick, has not played since suffering a concussion in Week 10 at Chicago. Veteran Jameis Winston started the past two games in his place while Russell Wilson served as the backup.
“I’m ready,” Dart said after Friday’s practice. “I’ve been waiting for it. Obviously, these primetime games are ones that you have circled on your calendar. So, excited to go out there, go compete at a high level and do everything in my power to rally these guys, to put our team in the best situation when the clock hits zero that we’re going to come out with a win.”
Dart, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October, became the first quarterback in NFL history with a touchdown run in five consecutive games, breaking a tie with Cam Newton (2011).
Dart has five games with at least one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown in 2025, tied with reigning MVP Josh Allen for most in the NFL heading into Week 13. The only rookie with more such games in league history is Newton (eight in 2011, when he won AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year).
Last week, Winston became the second player to record one receiving touchdown, two touchdown passes, and at least 300 pass yards in a game.
The Giants racked up a season-high 517 yards in Detroit and have now scored 20+ points in seven straight games, tied for the second-longest streak (2008) in a single season by the team since 2000. The 2011 Giants scored 20+ points in eight consecutive games.
“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.”
Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, who has not played since Week 10 due to a shoulder injury, was the only Giants player ruled out on the final injury report of the week. Cornerback Korie Black (biceps) and linebackers Swayze Bozeman (hip), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck/knee), and Victor Dimukeje (Knee) were questionable.
On Monday, the Giants signed outside linebacker Tomon Fox from the practice squad and elevated inside linebacker Swayze Bozeman and wide receiver Dalen Cambre.
The Patriots, meanwhile, had ruled out safety Brenden Schooler (ankle) and guard Jared Wilson (ankle). Linebacker Harold Landry III (knee), defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (chest), and center Garrett Bradbury (illness) were questionable heading into Monday night.
New England elevated offensive lineman Brenden Jaimes and defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. to the active roster from the practice squad.
