CHICAGO — Jaxson Dart lit up the Bears for three quarters on Sunday but wasn’t able to finish what he started as the Giants collapsed in spectacular fashion — again.
The promising rookie quarterback was removed from the Giants’ 24-20 win at Soldier Field at the end of the third quarter and evaluated for a concussion, which was later confirmed, with the Giants up 10 points.
Dart had completed 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards and carried the ball six times for 66 yards and two touchdowns in a stellar performance.
But then he lost a fumble with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter and took a huge hit from Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker from behind as he crumbled to the turf.
Brian Daboll put Dart back on the field for the first two plays of the Giants’ next drive to end the third quarter. But when the fourth quarter started, Russell Wilson was under center for the Giants and Dart was soon ruled out.
Then the Giants (2-8) unraveled, losing a franchise record 11th consecutive road game. The Bears’ Caleb Williams hit Rome Odunze for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 3:56 to play, and then Williams ran in the go-ahead touchdown himself from 17 yards with 1:47 remaining.
Wilson turned the ball over on downs to end the game.
Sunday marked Dart’s fourth concussion evaluation of his fledgling NFL career, including one in the preseason and three in the regular season.
His mobility is a weapon, but his aggressiveness and usage in Daboll’s offense makes him a frequent target of big hits.
Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito were no strangers to big hits and injuries in this offense during their time with the Giants, as well.
Bears safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson forced the Dart fumble just when the Giants were leading, 17-7, and drove into the red zone to stretch their lead to 17 points.
Bears corner Nahshon Wright recovered the giveaway, and the game flipped on the turnover and Dart’s injury.
Giants running back Devin Singletary did spring a 41-yard catch and run on a pass from Wilson on the veteran’s first drive. But Daboll inexplicably settled for a 19-yard Younghoe Koo field goal rather than going for a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line with 10:19 to play.
That gave the Giants a two-score lead, up 20-10. But it was an ignorant decision knowing that field goals are not going to win games the way that Daboll’s team collapses in fourth quarters.
Dart had given the Giants the 17-7 lead with 12:17 remaining in the third quarter on a 24-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, after a Tyrone Tracy 16-yard gallop set it up.
They’ll fly home and host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Then they’ll have two more road games at the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots before a Week 14 bye in December.
The Giants led, 10-7, at halftime after Koo made a 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Dart, who threw for 199 yards in the first half, hit tight end Theo Johnson with two completions for 46 yards to set up Koo’s go-ahead kick.
Bears corner Nahshon Wright should have intercepted Dart in the end zone on the drive, but Giants receiver Gunner Olszewski knocked the ball out of Wright’s hands to preserve New York’s three points.
The Giants were moving the ball even though they had lost leading receiver Darius Slayton temporarily to a hamstring injury midway through the second quarter.
Slayton had made three catches for 85 yards in the first 20 minutes of the game.
In his absence, the Giants’ receiving corps was Wan’Dale Robinson, their top slot receiver, Olszewski, a special teamer, and recent free agent signing Ray-Ray McCloud.
Dart still was cutting up the Bears’ defense, though, delivering six catches for 71 yards to Johnson along with 21 rushing yards and a Dart rushing touchdown in the first half alone.
Slayton was responsible for waking the offense up late in the first quarter after a sluggish start.
The Bears scored first on an 8-yard touchdown run by rookie Kyle Monangai with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
Dexter Lawrence looked like he had recorded a drive-ending sack on the Bears’ second drive. But a holding penalty on Cor’Dale Flott kept Chicago’s offense on the field to score the game’s first touchdown.
The Bears had outgained the Giants 93 yards to 12 through the game’s first 14 minutes. But Slayton made a crazy one-handed catch down the right sideline for a 31-yard gain on the final play of the first quarter.
Then Dart hit Slayton for another 38-yard completion on the first play of the second quarter down to the Bears’ 11 yard line. That set up Dart’s first rushing touchdown from three yards out with 13:06 remaining to tie the game at seven apiece.
The Giants had zero net yards rushing after their first three offensive possessions and the game was still tied, 7-7.
Johnson and the Bears offense, meanwhile, did not commit to running the ball against one of the NFL’s worst rushing defenses. That allowed the Giants pass rush to hassle Williams and force some punts and allow Dart to go to work.
Until Dart wasn’t able to anymore. And the Giants collapsed — again.
