Jaxson Dart returned to action for the New York Giants after a two-game absence due to a concussion on Monday Night Football. And he quickly put himself back in the line of fire.
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Dart was running toward the sideline to pick up some yardage. Instead of stepping out a few yards early, he tried to push for the first down, which allowed New England Patriots linebacker Kaden Elliss to flatten the Giants QB on a completely legal hit, just inside the sidelines.
And for those wondering, Dart didn’t even get the first down he risked his body for. He was completely fine, however, and later admitted that his style of play wasn’t changing.
“This is football. … I’ve played this way my entire life… We’re not playing soccer out here… Turn on my high school tape. Turn on my college tape. This is not a shocker to anybody,” said the rookie QB.
So it’s not just Dart’s play that is a little wild, but his attitude is a little bit immature as well. You can’t play a certain way in the NFL because you played that way in high school. You’re playing against a different level of athlete in the pros. That’s why Stephen A. Smith went so far as to call Dart’s response at that presser “idiotic.”
“It’s not worth it. It’s very idiotic on his part. And I want to use that strong word not to insult him, I wanna use that strong word so he understands the severity of what we’re talking about here and he protects himself,” the analyst said on First Take.
“This ain’t some rec league… These are MEN out here, not boys, okay? And the fact of the matter is, to subject yourself to unnecessary violence, it’s not a smart thing for a quarterback to do. It’s just that simple,” he added.
"It's not worth it. It's very idiotic on his part." 👀@stephenasmith on Giants QB Jaxson Dart's "aggressive" style ✍️ pic.twitter.com/SjclPyM4ZC
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 2, 2025
Smith also mentioned an earlier moment in the game when another Patriots linebacker, Harold Landry, delivered a big hit on Dart. It’s certainly something the coaching staff will need to address with him. At this rate, he may not even make it through two more years in the league, according to 14-year veteran Shannon Sharpe.
“At this rate Dart has about 2 more yrs in the NFL. You can not take those types of hits as player. Let alone a qb,” tweeted the former tight end.
And the most alarming thing is that Dart seems to have no qualms about going into these hits despite a pretty extensive history of concussions and evaluations. He just missed those two games with a concussion, which is significant in itself. But he’s also been evaluated for possible concussions on four different occasions this season. Four. That’s got to be some sort of NFL record or at least a season-high.
Brian Daboll was partly fired because of how lax he was in letting Dart “be Dart”. It seems this may also be a concern for interim HC Mike Kafka.
