One thing is becoming very clear about New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart following the team's loss to the New England Patriots.
The New York Giants were absolutely thrashed by the New England Patriots, 33-15, on Monday night. It was one of the only times the Giants weren't competitive this season. Oh well. They're now 2-11 and would hold the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft if the season ended today.
The bigger story on the evening was the return of Jaxson Dart, who was playing in his first game since suffering a concussion against the Chicago Bears three weeks ago.
Outside of taking a big hit along the sideline that caused a brief fracas between the Giants and Patriots, Dart's night was, for the most part, uneventful in the best way possible.
He went 17-for-24 with 139 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball four times for 20 yards. Yes, he still needs to do a better job of protecting himself and simply get out of bounds if he sees a defender bearing down on him. But otherwise, this was a decent performance by Dart.
The most important aspect? Dart did not the turn the ball over.
Dart has only committed five turnovers in eight starts this season. Three interceptions, two fumbles. That's it. That is terrific for a rookie quarterback, especially when you are one lacking weapons like Dart.
Malik Nabers went down with a torn ACL in Dart's first start back in Week 4. Cam Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 8. Dart doesn't have a legitimate No. 1 receiver. He doesn't have a No. 1 running back to help him, either, and while tight end Theo Johnson has shown flashes, the jury is still out on him, too.
Taking all of that into consideration, it's pretty remarkable that Dart has been able to take care of the football as well as he has. And let's be real: it's not like the Giants have the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line, either. It's not bad, but it's certainly not great.
Dart has now amassed 18 total touchdowns — 11 through the air, seven on the ground — compared to five turnovers on the year. I'm not sure if people truly recognize how impressive that is given Dart's circumstances.
New York has to get busy adding some weapons for Dart this offseason. If the Giants can make the right moves and Nabers and Skattebo return healthy in 2026, Dart should be sitting pretty.
Of course, growing pains are still expected. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen more of them this season. It seems like Dart condensed most of his mistakes into the games against the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos.
The 22-year-old looks wise beyond his years, and it's a very positive sign for the Giants moving forward.
Clearly, New York has a whole lot of work to do in the spring. Not only does Big Blue need to add offensive help for Dart, but the defense needs to be fixed. And oh yeah: the Giants need to find the right head coach and staff.
But in the midst of it all, it's becoming more and more clear that the G-Men have something special in Dart.