Giants QB Jaxson Dart Exits MNF vs. Rams With Knee Injury
Jaxson Dart's first Monday night as the Giants' starter lasted one drive. A hard hit caught his left knee in the first quarter, and the team said he was questionable to return. ESPN later reported the injury is believed to be a sprained MCL.
Dart went 3-of-5 for 20 yards before leaving.
The game got away from New York quickly. The Rams won 28-6. Jameis Winston replaced Dart and the offense never moved: 11-of-27 for 111 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, a 37.7 passer rating. That is 4.1 yards per attempt, and no, that's not a typo. It's a passing game that produced nothing.
Malik Nabers, the receiver everything is supposed to run through, caught one ball for one yard on four targets. Cam Skattebo carried 12 times for 36 yards and fumbled it away. Isaiah Likely drew 10 targets and turned them into 33 yards. The longest gain of consequence came on a 33-yard completion to Darnell Mooney.
The defense held up better than the score suggests. Jevon Holland intercepted a pass and made eight tackles. Tyler Nubin also made eight. Abdul Carter recorded a sack.
Here's where I'll part with the room. The consensus Tuesday morning will be that Dart's knee wrecked the Giants' season. Wrong target. The knee wrecked the Giants' night, and those are different things. Look at the two passing lines side by side and they read the same: 4.0 yards per attempt for Dart on five throws, 4.1 for Winston on 27. Five attempts is a tiny sample and I won't pretend otherwise. But a 27-attempt sample at 4.1 yards is not a bad night. It's a broken offense, and it was broken before the hit.
If the MCL report holds, the smart play is patience. Sit Dart until he's fully cleared rather than chasing a Week 3 start behind a line that just let him get folded on the opening series.
My call, on the record: Dart misses at least one start, Winston gets the next one, and the Giants lose it the same way, because the problem Monday night lined up under center twice and looked identical both times. That's what the tape says.
