Jaxson Dart took another step Saturday night toward grabbing the Giants’ starting quarterback job if Russell Wilson falters early this regular season.
Dart, 22, took first-team snaps in a game for the first time as a Giant — then led the second-string offense on two consecutive touchdown drives — in a primetime preseason tune-up against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
The first-round pick out of Ole Miss directed a high-paced, 9-play, 71-yard scoring drive to open the second half, capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Dulcich. Then he plunged into the end zone from the 1-yard line to put the exclamation point on a 12-play, 55-yard scoring drive.
The second score capitalized on an interception by undrafted rookie defensive back Makari Paige. Dart finished 14-of-16 passing for 137 yards, a touchdown and a 123.2 passer rating.
Juice Wells Jr., Dart’s former Ole Miss teammate, made some nifty moves for an 11-yard catch and run down to the goal line on the second scoring drive.
Wilson, the projected Week 1 starter, did his part on the Giants’ opening offensive drive to protect his job. The veteran quarterback bombed an 80-yard completion to rookie receiver Beaux Collins to set up a 1-yard Devin Singletary touchdown run.
But once Wilson’s first-team offense sputtered, head coach Brian Daboll snuck Dart onto the field on the second play of the Giants’ fourth offensive drive. And Dart promptly completed a screen pass to tight end Theo Johnson for a 30-yard catch and run.
That pass marked Dart’s first snap in a game behind the Giants’ projected starting offensive line with several of their top skill players.
Wilson replaced Dart immediately on the next snap, but the drive stalled when Wilson threw a deep interception in the end zone to Jets corner Qwan’tez Stiggers on a miscommunication with his receiver Collins.
That’s when Daboll replaced Wilson with Dart for the Giants’ fifth drive while leaving the rest of the first-team offense in the game.
Dart went three-and-out on the drive. He took a hit on a second down incompletion from the Jets’ Phidarian Mathis, who beat guard Evan Neal. Then the Jets’ Kingsley Jonathan tripped up a scrambling Dart on third down.
But it was more meaningful that Dart got the experience than anything else. It reflects that Daboll and the Giants are continuing to expose Dart to higher levels of competition and more opportunities with an eye on playing him as soon as he’s ready and Wilson isn’t getting the job done.
At the moment, that quarterback change doesn’t feel far off.
GAME NOTES: Jameis Winston drove the Giants’ third-stringers to 10 points in the fourth quarter, with a 34-yard completion to Dalen Cambre to set up a Jude McAtamney field goal and a 9-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 1-yard Winston TD run … A long list of Giants players sat out the game due to injury or caution on the organization’s part: top receiver Malik Nabers, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, left tackle Andrew Thomas (PUP), corner Deonte Banks, tight end Chris Manhertz, tight end Daniel Bellinger, running back Cam Skattebo, corner Tre Hawkins, safety Tyler Nubin, linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, safety K’Von Wallace and Da’Quan Felton … Corners Paulson Adebo and Cor’Dale Flott made third down pass breakups to hold Justin Fields and the Jets’ offense to three points on their first two drives … The Giants committed three first-half penalties: an encroachment by defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches, a false start by Johnson the tight end and a special team holding by safety Raheem Layne on a punt return.
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