EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Jaxson Dart stood on the sideline as the clock ticked down. There would be no last-second field goal to tie this game.
The Los Angeles Chargers pressed in their final drive. Justin Herbert found Quentin Johnston for a 22-yard gain, but they ran out of time. The New York Giants held on to win their first game of the season, 21-18, on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. And in his first career NFL start, their new franchise quarterback delivered his first win.
He waited to make sure the Giants crossed the finish line. Two weeks ago, New York conceded a last-second field goal to the Dallas Cowboys while up three and lost in overtime.
“I was waiting for it to hit zero,” Dart said. “Because obviously that Dallas game, in my mind, I thought we were going to have that one. So I was just staring at the clock, waiting for it to count down.”
As the Giants left the field, head coach Brian Daboll embraced Dart. The rookie, for now, may have just saved his coach’s job.
“We’re trying to go 1-0,” Daboll said. “We close it out this game, miss the closing out a couple weeks ago.”
Daboll is in his fourth season behind the Giants’ bench. In the wake of a 9-7 2022 campaign, in which New York posted a winning record and clinched a playoff berth for the first time in six years, the Giants have cratered.
Big Blue slipped to 3-14 last season. In November, during the Giants’ Week 11 bye, the club benched — and later released — starting quarterback Daniel Jones.
Daboll’s seat has only grown hotter in the first few weeks of this season. The Giants had traded the 34th and 99th picks to the Houston Texans at the NFL Draft to select Dart 25th overall.
“I’m banking on you,” Daboll told Dart over the phone on draft night.
“Smart man,” Dart told his coach at the time.
The Giants signed veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to mentor Dart this year, with Wilson named New York’s starter to open the season. But the Giants got off to an 0-3 start, capped by a 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in their home opener last Sunday. That night, fans repeatedly chanted Dart’s name, while Wilson completed 18-of-32 passes, with two interceptions and no touchdowns.
This week, Daboll made the change. Dart wasted little time making his mark.
On New York’s first drive of the game, Dart handed the ball off to Cam Skattebo and threw short passes to Nabers to get a first down at the Chargers’ 15-yard line. On the ensuing play, he found space up the middle and ran it into the endzone for a rushing touchdown. It was the first time this season the Chargers had allowed a first-quarter touchdown. The Giants gained 89 yards on the drive on nine plays, totalling 4:17 of possession.
Dart ran a high-tempo offense Sunday. He relied heavily on the run game. The Giants ran the ball 42 times for 161 yards. Dart struggled, at times, in the air. He threw several deep balls that did not connect — including one in the second quarter that resulted in Malik Nabers’ knee injury, which was confirmed to be a season-ending torn ACL.
“I’d like to be a little bit more efficient in the passing game,” Dart said. “Creating a few more explosive plays. They had a really good plan for us, so you got to give them a ton of credit. They played really good defense these past three weeks, and we knew that coming into this game, the vertical passing game down the field just really just wasn’t there because of how they played, and they’re very disciplined.”
The Chargers worked their passing game, as Herbert threw for 203 yards. But New York’s defense held strong when it needed to. On Los Angeles’ third drive of the game, Dexter Lawrence II picked off Herbert at the 40 and returned it for 37 yards for his first career interception. The Giants settled for a field goal.
In the third quarter, Dru Phillips picked off Herbert at the 41 and returned it for 56 yards to the Chargers’ three. On the second down of the ensuing Giants’ drive, Dart flipped the ball to tight end Theo Johnson, who spun his way to the endzone. The Chargers’ Naquan Jones was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play, and Dart handed the ball to Skattebo for the two-point conversion.
As the sea of blue celebrated the Giants’ first win of the season, Daboll’s embrace of his quarterback was the signal of a close relationship between player and coach. From day one, Dart has been Daboll’s guy.
“Me and Dabs just have a special relationship,” Dart said. “He’s the guy that believed in me from day one. And I think it does say a lot that he made the decision and had the confidence in me, and even just giving me the ball in those situations on a third down and make a play. When you have a coach who has your back, I’m gonna go out there and do everything I can for him to win.”
