ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Jaxson Dart‘s preseason debut may have gone as New York Giants coach Brian Daboll expected. It was still impressive and included what Daboll considered a “sweet throw” for a touchdown.
Dart went 12-of-19, passing for 154 yards and a touchdown in a 34-25 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday afternoon. He also rushed for 24 yards on three carries as he checked a variety of boxes in his first NFL game action. The highlight of it all was a 28-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Lil’Jordan Humphrey in the second quarter with pressure in his face.
None of it surprised his head coach.
“It’s about what I thought he would do,” Daboll said of the quarterback the Giants traded back into the first round to take with the 25th pick in this year’s draft. “Efficient, effective, aggressive, confident in the pocket. Still stuff we can work on, but he’s doing good.”
Dart was less impressed with his own performance. He thought he did some things well but there was plenty to clean up. He even told Daboll it was simply “mid” despite looking poised and in control throughout.
The Giants did have some drives stall with Dart behind center and there were a couple of passes deflected at the line of scrimmage, including one that probably should have been intercepted several plays before the touchdown pass.
This had Dart not fully content, even if the overall offensive operation ran fairly smoothly. That was the primary object for Daboll heading into this contest.
“I just felt like the only reason we stopped ourselves from scoring touchdowns was some of those third downs and not converting,” Dart said. “I felt like, personally, I’m really hard on myself. So in those moments I want to capitalize on that. Those possessions in those crunch time situations really determine the outcome of games. Like I said, I feel I can do a lot more. But I was happy with how the game played around me.”
Dart played a quarter and a half against the Bills, finishing the first half in place of starter Russell Wilson, who led the Giants to a field goal on his only drive of the contest. The rookie was able to thrive in a bunch of different situations that Daboll was hoping would present themselves.
Dart drove down the field for the touchdown using an up-tempo approach. He then led them to a field goal in a two-minute drill to close out the first half.
The veteran Wilson was impressed.
“I thought he did a really good job,” said Wilson, who went 6-of-7 passing for 26 yards in his one drive before giving way to Dart. “He was composed. He made a great throw to [Humphrey]. One on one he’s always going to make a play. He did a great job.”
Dart wasn’t the only Giants rookie to have a promising debut. No. 3 pick Abdul Carter was on the field for only six snaps, three being pass rush attempts. He had a pair of quarterback pressures in that limited playing time. The Giants believe their top two picks passed this initial test.
“Both of those guys did a good job,” general manager Joe Schoen said in an interview on the NBC 4 broadcast during the game.
He added: “Definitely didn’t seem too big for them. That’s what it seemed like this spring. And even in training camp, each day they continue to get better. You’ve never felt it was too big for either of those guys, and I think that showed [Saturday].”
Carter worked with the first-team defense against the Bills. He didn’t start, but came in as a third-down pass rusher on the opening drive. He then was part of the base defense package on the Giants’ second drive.
Dart worked with the second-team offense ahead of veteran Jameis Winston, much like he has done all summer. But he still was listed third on the team’s first unofficial depth chart this summer behind Winston.
Winston also performed well. He went 7-of-11, passing for 62 yards and a touchdown pass. But he also had an interception overturned by a defensive penalty.
But while this was Winston’s debut with the Giants, he has been in plenty of NFL game environments. He’s on his fourth team and in his 11th season.
Dart was playing last year for Ole Miss. His parents flew in on a redeye to watch his first NFL game. To lead three scoring drives on four possessions is something he can build on. But it’s hardly the ultimate validation of his draft status or a declaration of what his career will become.
“So with all these rookies, with our team, with everything, again, let’s take it for what it’s worth,” Daboll said. “It’s one preseason game. There’s some good stuff and there’s a lot of things we need to correct.”
