Jaxson Dart records 1st NFL touchdown on Giants opening drive vs. Chargers

At 0-3, New York needs a spark. They were hopeful Dart could provide that, as head coach Brian Daboll benched Russell Wilson in favor of the former Ole Miss standout for Sunday’s game.

Dart is going up against one of the league’s best defenses in the Chargers, but the first drive was certainly encouraging. He was perfect through the air and rushed for 28 yards on three carries.

Jaxson Dart off to hot start to NFL career

Quarterback play, which has been a struggle for the Giants since Eli Manning‘s last full season as a starter in 2018, has been a major factor in New York’s disappointing start to the season. The organization brought in the former All-Pro in Wilson this offseason as their starter, but he threw for just three passing touchdowns and three interceptions in the first three games.

Dart excelled in the preseason, passing for 372 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His time is now and for Daboll, a strong performing Dart would be a welcome sight.

“You do everything you can do to coach him up. It’s a tough position to play. It’s a tough position to play as a young player,” Daboll said, via Giants.com. “Look at all the guys that have come out in the last however many years. You’ve just got to stay level-headed, keep grinding, hit every situation head on, learn from it. If it comes up again in a game, you learn from it. Don’t get too high. Don’t get too low. Keep building. Keep building him up.

“The young man has a lot of confidence, which is a good thing. He’s smart. He’s got a lot of good intangibles, but again, this is something you’ve got to keep building because there’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs. When I talked to him in the draft process, I think that he’s got a good mindset for it.”