Star Rookie QB Jaxon Dart Looks To Set The Tone For Resurgent N.Y. Giants

Prior to this season, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had no experience playing in the NFL. The team drafted the rookie quarterback and expected him to be a backup to Russell Wilson.

Fast forward to October, and Dart is aiming to kickstart the Giants’ season as the starting QB.

Dart started his third straight game for New York on Thursday night, defeating the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-17 at MetLife Stadium. The rookie is now 2-1 as the starting quarterback after throwing one touchdown and rushing one score on Thursday.

He now hopes the team’s theme will start to change.

“It absolutely is (a statement) because you have to have a lot of respect for that team (Eagles),” Dart said after the win. “Quite honestly, nobody really expected us to put up a performance like this. As a locker room, as teammates, we felt confident.”

“We’re just trying to play for each other and win games. We want to find an identity. I felt like we did a good job of putting that a little bit together tonight.”

The victory is the Giants’ second straight home win against teams with winning records. In Dart’s first start, he threw 111 yards and recorded one throwing and rushing touchdown to beat a then-undefeated Los Angeles Chargers.

Rookie running back Cam Skattebo also helped the Giants in their win over the Eagles. The former Arizona State player posted a season-high 98 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the night.

“I just think there’s – at times – some negativity that’s surrounding here,” Dart said on changing the tone regarding the team. “For us, some of the new guys that are coming here, we just got here, so we don’t feel like we were involved in the past. We’ve got a lot of winners on this team, guys who come out every single day, work their a– off to put on a good showing on Sundays.”

Dart looks to continue his surging form next Sunday as the Giants travel west to face the Denver Broncos.

“We do feel like we’re a really good team,” Dart said. “We have really good players. We’re just trying to win games. We’re just trying to stay internal and stay connected each and every day.”