New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart appeared to be in disbelief while standing at the podium in MetLife Stadium following his team’s 16-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Ole Miss product had never experienced this sort of ineptitude before, like many blue-chip passing prospects who are thrust into dysfunctional NFL franchises.
But Sunday was a new low against a Vikings defense that befuddled Dart all day. He completed just 7 of 13 passes for 33 yards with an interception. Six of those completions came in the second half, as Big Blue’s franchise man under center connected on just one single pass for two yards in the opening two quarters.
And that didn’t come until there was 1:44 left in the half.
When asked if he had ever had a game like this before in his life, Dart simply said, “No.”
“I mean, just not let it happen again,” he said later when asked about what the biggest takeaway of his Week 16 performance was.
The valleys far outnumber the peaks in Dart’s rookie season. The Giants have now lost nine straight games and have their clutches on the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NFL Draft thanks to their current 2-13 record.
For all the saving that Dart is projected to do — and he showed flashes of that under previous head coach Brian Daboll — it appears he has regressed in recent weeks under interim head coach Mike Kafka.
In the three games since returning from the concussion he suffered in Week 10 against the Chicago Bears, Dart has completed just 60.2% of his passes for 418 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
“Still just trying to process this one,” Dart said. ” It’s kind of just a hard question to ask or answer, sorry. It’s a hard question to answer right now, just it being so fresh and obviously this is just not how you plan it out to go in your head before the season. It’s definitely been difficult.”
Dart was seen postgame speaking at length with veteran backup quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in the locker room. While he did not delve into specifics, the rookie did say that the two mentors are helping to provide “perspective.”
“They have been through a lot,” Dart said. “They have had crazy good games. They have had games where they struggled themselves. A lot of this is new for me, and I definitely lean on those guys and have those conversations.
