CHICAGO — New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a concussion in the second half of Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Dart took a hard hit on a fumble in the third quarter, getting hit from the side as he ran by a defensive lineman tracking back to make the play. His head hit the ground, and he got up slowly, eventually walking to the sideline after remaining on the field for a few seconds on his knees.
Dart returned to the game the following drive for two plays and then went to the blue medical tent in between quarters. He walked slowly into the locker room afterward with a trainer.
The first-round pick was ruled out later in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Unfortunately, he got hurt.”
The Giants realized something was wrong between quarters. Dart went to the blue medical tent, and his helmet was eventually taken out and placed on the side.
“So, with Dart it was going back out on the field, just didn’t seem right. So called the trainers over and said, ‘Let’s get him out and make sure he gets looked at,'” Daboll said. “So, he went in and got looked at, evaluated for concussion.”
Daboll later added “somebody said something” on the sideline that indicated that Dart wasn’t right.
His teammates didn’t notice anything in the huddle. They didn’t realize Dart was potentially leaving the game until Wilson began taking snaps on the sideline with backup center Austin Schlottmann.
“I don’t remember what the stoppage was. But Austin went over to take snaps over with Russ and we saw the blue tent up, and we just kind of assumed, like, all right, I guess something happened to Jaxson at some point,” guard Greg Van Roten said. “And, you know, he was out. And that was it.”
Dart was replaced in the game by Russell Wilson, who finished 3-of-7 passing for 45 yards and rushed twice for 12 yards. The Giants led 20-10 during the fourth quarter but were unable to hold off the Bears’ rally.
The Giants (2-8) drove down the field in the initial drive with Wilson before stalling at the 1-yard line.
“We have to find a way to get a touchdown there,” Wilson said.
The Giants went three-and-out on the ensuing possession with Wilson at quarterback and stalled in the final minute with a chance to win the game. It was their franchise-record 11th straight road loss and their fourth loss when leading by double digits this season. They are also just the second team since the 1970 merger to lose multiple games in a season after leading by 10+ points in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, joining only the 2004 Seahawks.
Daboll did not directly answer a question afterward about whether Wilson would start next week against the Green Bay Packers if Dart were unable to play. The Giants also have veteran Jameis Winston on the roster.
Wilson said he began to prepare to enter the game after seeing Dart get up slowly following the fumble.
“He made a great effort trying to make a play. He did a good job just trying to be tough and all that,” Wilson said. “I was just prepared. You always have to be ready to go.”
Before leaving, Dart was 19-of-29 passing for 242 yards and had 66 rushing yards on six carries with a pair of scores. He became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown in five straight games.
But all the hits have started to add up. Dart had been contacted the second-most of any quarterback since becoming the starter in Week 4, taking an average of almost 13 hits per contest. In addition to the normal flow of the game, the Giants have called multiple designed quarterback runs each of the past few weeks. Dart, however, did slide on multiple occasions Sunday before the concussion.
This is the fourth time Dart has been evaluated for a concussion this year, including the preseason.
“I’d just say it’s unfortunate that he got hurt,” Daboll said about the idea his quarterback was taking too many hits.
The Giants have talked for weeks about not wanting to take away Dart’s aggressiveness. It’s a part of what makes him effective.
Dart was asked this past week about balancing his desire to win with playing smart. It’s something he’s still working on.
“Maybe a little bit. That’s definitely something that when you watch the tape back on, you try to think of those moments where you can save your body, a hit or not,” he said. “At the same time, it’s really hard for me in those moments because I just want to compete. Ultimately, I just want to score.”
He later added: “I’m going to play the game the way I want to play the game.”
Dart has been an instant sensation since taking over as the starter in Week 4. He has produced 17 total touchdowns in his seven starts.
The Giants are 2-5 in those contests.
