Jaxson Dart seems like he’s being singled out.
The Giants’ rookie quarterback was despatched to the blue medical tent for yet one more concussion analysis within the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 29-21 loss to the Washington Commanders.
And after the Giants’ eighth straight loss, Dart vented his frustration with being eliminated on 2nd and purpose by Sunday’s NFL officers, inflicting him to overlook two performs as he rapidly cleared the protocol.
“I’m not really sure what the reason was I had to come out of the game,” Dart mentioned after the Giants slipped to 2-12. “It was just really weird. I don’t understand it.”
Interim head coach Mike Kafka mentioned the officers made Dart depart the sphere to get examined.
Dart, 22, admitted he seems like he’s being watched additional carefully by the league and its concussion spotters and officers as a result of loud public discourse about his skill to remain secure as a runner.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he mentioned. “I mean, you don’t just see people getting taken out of the game like that. So I definitely feel like there’s a sensitivity for some reason.”
Dart now has been evaluated for a concussion 5 occasions since he entered the NFL in August: as soon as within the preseason and 4 occasions through the common season.
He has one recognized concussion as far as a professional on Nov. 9 in Chicago that sidelined him for 2 video games.
He has expressed frustration with being pulled from video games earlier than, however he particularly thought that his removing on Sunday got here at an particularly pricey and pivotal time.
“This definitely wasn’t the first time that I’ve been surprised that I had to come out, but I was definitely surprised,” he mentioned. “I just didn’t feel like it was that big a hit at all. Obviously the situation we were in, too, first and goal, that’s a big thing that happens in the game. So I was definitely surprised.”
The play occurred with 11:38 remaining within the fourth quarter and the Giants trailing, 29-14. It was 1st and purpose on the Washington 1.
Dart claimed his working was not part of Kafka’s preliminary play name.
The quarterback mentioned the coach known as “a little trick pass” and when it didn’t work, he “didn’t want to make a bad play worse by forcing the ball, so I just tried to get back to the line of scrimmage.”
Kafka waffled. He mentioned the play was “him or nobody” and added that Dart had “tried to get back to the line of scrimmage on the run, which we’ve talked about, too. But it’s not like a designed run.”
Regardless, when Dart ducked down on the finish of the play, his head and neck have been folded backward awkwardly on a joint deal with by Washington defensive linemen Eddie Goldman and Javon Kinlaw.
The Giants’ medical group shortly after escorted Dart off the sphere to look at him within the blue medical tent whereas Jameis Winston stepped in to run two performs at QB.
Dart returned to the sport rapidly for a failed fourth down attempt, perplexed at what the officers thought they’d seen on the play.
It’s clearly a optimistic anytime the NFL prioritizes participant security. Nevertheless it’s admittedly uncommon that Dart was allowed to stay in that Nov. 9 loss in Chicago after clearly hitting his head and mendacity immobile on the bottom — and being eliminated and recognized with a concussion late — and now he’s being taken off the sphere for one thing a lot much less apparent.
The league and NFL gamers’ affiliation demonstrated no transparency popping out of the mishandling of Dart’s concussion in Chicago. Is it doable Dart’s removing on Sunday was an overcorrection and a part of an emphasis popping out of that state of affairs?
“Hmmm, I’m not sure for the reason,” Dart mentioned. “I think that’ll just be something that hopefully can get communicated. I’m not really sure, to be honest, why that happened.”
The Giants (2-12) actually have made a aware effort to design fewer runs for Dart since he returned from his concussion within the Giants’ blowout loss at New England earlier than the bye.
However finally Dart had to make use of his legs and scramble extra on Sunday as a result of the pocket passing sport wasn’t efficient early. And although he made some good throws, he was inconsistent and had some pricey underthrows.
He threw an interception to Commanders nook Mike Sainstril late within the second quarter to arrange a Washington discipline purpose. And he missed some throws for a turnover on downs on the finish of the sport to drop the Giants to 1-4 within the division.
“I take accountability for this one,” Dart mentioned. “I didn’t play well enough today for this team to win. So I gotta be better, especially in that situation. I didn’t play good enough for our team today.”
On the plus aspect, fellow rookie Abdul Carter, the Giants’ No. 3 total decide, got here alive for seven tackles, a sack, two pressured fumbles and a fumble restoration in his most lively sport of his first NFL season.
However the Giants allowed 29 factors to a Washington (4-10) group that had misplaced eight in a row and had been shut out, 31-0, the earlier week by the Minnesota Vikings.
The Giants have misplaced eight straight, and so they have three video games remaining: house towards the Vikings subsequent Sunday, on the street on the Raiders in Week 17 and residential towards the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18.
“If we just got the win, it would make it a lot better,” Carter mentioned of Kafka praising his work. “So that’s what I’m thinking about. I wish we got the win.”
Particular groups coordinator Michael Ghobrial’s unit was horrendous once more.
They allowed a punt return for a landing for a second straight sport, a 63-yarder from Washington’s Jaylin Lane, on a line drive kick by new punter Cameron Johnston. And kicker Younghoe Koo missed two discipline purpose makes an attempt from 52 and 51 yards.
All three sides of the ball chipped in to the dysfunction. On protection, there was a poor tackling effort by nook Paulson Adebo on an extended Terry McLaurin landing move from Marcus Mariota. And on offense, proper deal with Jermaine Eluemunor at one level had a three-play sequence of permitting a QB hit and a sack adopted by committing a false begin.
Washington saved shedding gamers to damage all through the sport, however it didn’t matter.
The Giants fell to 5-18-1 (.208) within the NFC East since Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll took over the franchise in 2022. And so they now have a shedding report towards all three of their NFC East foes in these 4 years: 0-7 towards the Cowboys, 2-7 towards the Eagles and 3-4-1 towards Washington.
Dart is making an attempt to will the Giants out of this malaise. When the Giants trailed 13-0 early, he even had a 29-yard run downfield the place he refused to slip and determined to tackle a few defenders whereas combating for extra yards and eyeing the top zone.
He did slide on his subsequent scramble, although, and but there he was within the fourth quarter, ducking down for canopy and nonetheless taking a success and being despatched to the medical tent for an analysis.
“I mean, I don’t know [what I can do differently], maybe just run the other way,” Dart mentioned. “I have no idea. Not sure.”
He would welcome extra designed runs, because the Giants used him earlier this season, in the event that they returned to that technique.
“I’m a competitor,” he mentioned. “I want the ball in my hands. I definitely feel comfortable and confident running the ball.”
However he mentioned he has “confidence in the guys around me,” and he’ll run no matter play Kafka calls.
The query is what Dart can do to stop being singled out as a well being threat, particularly if a success that he thought-about minor is resulting in his removing from video games.
His identify, for the time being, is synonymous nationally with the NFL’s concussion concern and administration. That’s not an excellent place to be for a quarterback whose athleticism is certainly one of his biggest traits — and who’s looking for solutions to channel the “frustration” of this shedding into options for the longer term for each him and the group.
“It’s definitely tough,” Dart mentioned. “I’m not gonna speak round it. It’s undoubtedly robust. However the one factor we will do is come again into the ability, put together even more durable and proceed to attempt to be taught.
“I know this isn’t gonna be the case for the future, and things are gonna eventually turn around,” he continued. “I definitely have that in my mind. But as a team, we want to get that switched immediately.”
