Jaxson Dart has strong starting debut, leads Giants to first victory of season
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Jaxson Dart accomplished a ton as the starting quarterback at Ole Miss, and it didn’t take him very long to do something really special at the NFL level.
On Sunday, in only Week 5 of his rookie NFL season, the signal-caller stepped forward in his first career pro start and led the New York Giants to their first victory of the season. Even more impressive, Dart did against a Los Angeles Chargers team that came into MetLife Stadium undefeated.
By day’s end, those previously unbeaten Chargers were 3-1, and Dart’s Giants were 1-3 with a sudden burst of energy created by the guy who used to thrill fans in Oxford. On Sunday, he did it for victory-starved New York football fans in a 21-18 win and made a little history along the way that involved an SEC icon.
Dart became the 2nd player since 2000 to have a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and 50 yards rushing in his first career NFL start, joining a guy named Tim Tebow, who accomplished the feat with the Denver Broncos during his rookie season in 2010.
For Dart, it was a special Sunday afternoon, as he threw for 111 yards and 1 touchdown with 0 interceptions and ran for 54 yards on 10 carries and a TD. Dart also didn’t make the big mistake that could have cost the Giants the victory in such a close game. He led an offense that finished with 0 turnovers, allowing New York to pull off the upset.
ESPN celebrated Dart’s history-making day with this post:
What will Dart do for an encore? We’ll find out next Sunday when the Giants travel to New Orleans to face the Saints.
For now, Dart has this performance to celebrate. Tebow lost that starting debut 15 years ago on the road against the Raiders, who were in Oakland at the time. Dart did him 1 better on Sunday, putting up strong numbers while getting the victory.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
