NEW ORLEANS — Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart‘s first career start last week for the New York Giants couldn’t have gone much better. He had no turnovers, and they won. His second start on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints had him putting the blame on his shoulders after three turnovers in the second half of a 26-14 loss.
The Giants (1-4) turned the ball over on five straight possessions at one point spanning late in the first half to the fourth quarter. Dart had a fumble where the ball just squirted out of his hands untouched and threw two interceptions.
“I told as many guys as I can in the locker room, this one is on me and I’m going to get better,” Dart said. “I expect myself to play better in these games and to win them.”
Dart went 26 of 40 passing for 202 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. But after a strong start, everything went sideways.
Still, he was hardly the only Giants player to make a costly mistake. Wide receiver Darius Slayton and running back Cam Skattebo also had crucial fumbles that turned into 10 Saints points.
So why was Dart so willing to take all the blame?
“I mean, I’m the leader of the offense. Anytime those things happen it kind of falls back on the leaders. I take that responsibility.”
The rookie quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Theo Johnson in the first half. He also made several plays with his legs, finishing with 55 yards on seven carries.
The second half didn’t go as planned when Dart threw for 95 yards on 24 pass attempts (3.96 yards per attempt).
“I thought he battled,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Game got away from us for him a little bit with those turnovers. Again, some easy ones too. One we just dropped. Those kill you because you give those points, I think 13 points, and they take away points when we’re driving. Most of them were on the plus-50 or down there in the scoring zone to at least get a field goal out of it. Again, we moved the ball well sometimes. But it’s hard when you’re giving the ball away.”
It began to head downhill for the Giants when Slayton dropped a deep pass and later fumbled on the final drive of the first half. Dart then started the second half with his fumble after the Giants moved near midfield. Skattebo then fumbled on the opening play of the fourth quarter, and it was returned 86 yards for a touchdown by Saints safety Jordan Howden.
Dart later threw interceptions on the next two possessions as the Giants tried to rally late. They had a turnover on downs on their final possession of the contest.
“It’s not good. Got to cut that shit out,” Dart said of the five turnovers. “I think that starts with me being a leader. Some of those came from me. I have to be a better example. I have to be a better leader. In those situations, just talk to the guys in the huddle. Just remind them about ball security. As a quarterback, I put that on myself.”
Still, Dart wasn’t the only Giants player pointing the finger at himself.
“I’m pretty sure I had the first [turnover]. From an accountability standpoint, I started that,” Slayton said. “From myself to, I don’t even remember everyone else that turned it over, for everybody, we have to do a better job holding onto the football.”
What the Giants did was rare. Only three teams (2016 New York Jets, 2010 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2010 Chicago Bears) turned it over on five straight possessions over the past 25 years.
And it wasn’t as if the Saints did anything different in the second half to force all the turnovers.
“Not much. I thought we moved the ball and then we turned it over,” Daboll said. “The drives that we stalled on, we turned the ball over. Five in a row, which is hard to do.”
