New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) rolls out during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Giants rookie shines again, completing promising preseason

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 9:02 AM ET

Preseason football can produce some misleading results, but the New York Giants have to be ecstatic with what they have seen from first-round pick quarterback Jaxson Dart so far.

He impressed again on Thursday night against the New England Patriots, before being removed from the game to be evaluated for a concussion.

The Giants said he cleared the concussion protocol.

Prior to that, however, Dar t was showing all of his skills in leading the Giants offense.

While his final stat line only shows a 6-for-12 passing performance for 81 yards, some of those incompletions were passes that could — and, perhaps, should — have been caught. He did not get a lot of help from his wide receivers.

Even so, he still completed a 50-yard pass to Gunner Olszewski, and then connected with Greg Dulcich for a touchdown on a laser of a pass.

BOOM! Just like that!!!

: PRIME pic.twitter.com/tQuBoaeELr
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 22, 2025

Along with the passing, Dart also showed off his ability to run with a 23-yard gain.

The only downside to that run, however, is that it ended his night when his head hit the ground, resulting in him leaving the game to be evaluated for the potential concussion.

Dart does not figure to be in serious competition for the starting job as veteran Russell Wilson seems to have that locked down, at least for now. But Dart has done everything he can in the preseason to show that he has the ability to play at the NFL level.

Including his performance on Thursday, he leaves the preseason having completed 32-of-47 passes for 372 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and also ran six times for 52 yards and a touchdown.

It is hard for a rookie to do better than that in their first look in the NFL.

The Giants have been searching for a long-term quarterback solution ever since Eli Manning retired and have gone through a revolving door of bad options. They are hoping Dart can finally put an end to that for the foreseeable future.

There is still a long way to go before he gets to that level, but he has certainly made a great first impression.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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