On target: Jaxson Dart dazzles in his first NFL start while leading Giants to win over Chargers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jaxson Dart made a lot of people feel pretty good after a dazzling debut as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback.

The frustrated fans. His excited teammates. And his embattled coach.

“There’s nothing about him that’s typical of a rookie,” tight end Theo Johnson said after the Giants beat the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers 21-18 on Sunday. “His poise, the way he can rally the troops. Everyone just rallied behind him.

“He’s got great energy and everyone’s got a ton of respect for him.”

Especially after this performance by Dart, who brushed off getting banged up and provided a sudden boost to a franchise that appeared ready to tailspin into another lost season.

Dart — the Utahn, who played at Roy High School and Corner Canyon High School before making headlines at Ole Miss and USC — ran for a 15-yard touchdown to cap an impressive 90-yard drive on the opening possession of his first game as the Giants’ starting quarterback. He later threw a TD pass and got a huge hug from coach Brian Daboll to celebrate the victory.

“Me and Dabs just have a special relationship,” Dart said of Daboll, who made it clear it was his decision to bench Russell Wilson in favor of the rookie this week after the Giants’ 0-3 start.

“He’s the guy that believed in me from Day 1,” he added. “I think it does say a lot when he made the decision and having the confidence in me and even just giving me the ball in those situations on third down to make a play. I know that when you have a coach that has your back, I’m going to go out there and do everything I can for him to win.”

Dart was the 25th overall pick out of Ole Miss in April, even after the Giants signed Wilson in free agency in March. The thought was Wilson could help guide the youngster, who would sit back and learn while the veteran ran the offense and, Daboll and the Giants hoped, led the team to some victories.

But New York struggled with consistency during an 0-3 start that had many fans calling for Daboll’s job. While Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns in the Week 2 loss at Dallas, he had no TD passes in the other two games. And his struggles in the red zone in the loss last week to Kansas City appeared to seal his fate — and make up Daboll’s mind.

The Giants turned to Dart. And now, it’s on him to have them never turn back.

“I want to give a big shoutout to Russ,” Dart said. “I know that this week probably wasn’t the easiest thing, but he handled it like a professional and was a mentor for me. So, obviously just have a ton of respect for him.”

Dart finished 13 of 20 for 111 yards, including a 3-yard TD pass to Johnson, and ran 10 times for 54 yards. He was sacked five times, holding the ball a bit too long on some plays — not unlike many rookie quarterbacks.

He also brushed off a hamstring injury after halftime and a big hit from the Chargers that sent him to the medical tent for two plays to be evaluated for a head injury.

“I know (No.) 6 is probably going to be sore,” Daboll said. “I mean, he gutted it out. Son’s a tough son of a you know what. He’s tough, but I knew that.”

After the Chargers punted on their first series of the game, Dart and the Giants took the field at their 10 — and the quarterback received a standing ovation from the MetLife Stadium crowd as he jogged from the sideline.

His first snap was a handoff to Cam Skattebo and his first pass one play later to Malik Nabers fell incomplete, but Tarheeb Still was called for pass interference. Two plays later, Dart’s first NFL completion went for 7 yards to Nabers.

After Skattebo ran for 20 yards on the next two plays, Dart took off on runs of 9 and 4 yards to put the ball at the Chargers 28. Dart connected with a sliding Nabers — who was later carted from the field with an apparent right leg injury — for a 13-yard completion to make it first-and-10 at the 15.

Dart then took the snap, wriggled up the middle and scooted into the end zone nearly untouched for a touchdown to put New York up 7-0 with 9:20 left in the opening quarter.

Dart led the Giants on two more scoring drives in the first half, field goals of 22 and 31 yards by Jude McAtamney. The rookie was 7 of 11 for 59 yards through two quarters and ran six times for 44 yards and the score.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our rookie quarterback,” Daboll said. “But he’s a rookie quarterback, so there’s going to be mistakes that’ll be made. We know that. There’ll be more next week, there was some this week. It’s not going to be perfect.”

But it was good enough this week to perhaps already save the Giants’ season.

“The confidence he carries himself with,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said, “and the swagger he has is contagious.”

FULL GAME RECAP

Brian Daboll found a grinning Jaxson Dart on the field after the New York Giants’ first victory of the season, hugged the rookie quarterback around his neck and then giving him a big slap on the chest.

The embattled coach simply couldn’t hide his emotions.

“Happy we got him,” Daboll said.

Dart threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in an impressive NFL starting debut, leading the Giants past the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers 21-18 on Sunday.

“It’s just a football game, that’s just the best way to describe it,” Dart said when asked how he felt mentally and physically. “Obviously, this experience was a special one, being my first one.”

The excitement by the Giants (1-3) was a bit tempered by the uncertain status of wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was carted off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury. Daboll didn’t have an immediate update after the game.

“Unfortunately this is a business of injury,” Daboll said. “I feel terrible for Malik’s injury. We’ll see where it’s at.”

Dart launched a deep pass down the right sideline — a free play after the Chargers (3-1) jumped offside — toward a streaking Nabers. The wide receiver’s right leg appeared to buckle as he went up to try to catch the pass, which fell incomplete.

Nabers, down at the Chargers 7 with 6:12 left before halftime, immediately grabbed at his right leg. He was checked for several minutes before being helped onto the cart.

“You hate to see your teammate, your brother, go down like that,” Dart said.

Dart started after Daboll — who many fans have called to be fired after the team’s winless start — made the decision this week to play him in place of Russell Wilson. And the rookie made an immediate impact, running for a 15-yard score to cap his first drive as a starting quarterback. He also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Theo Johnson.

Dart finished 13 of 20 for 111 yards and ran 10 times for 54 yards.

He also brushed off a hamstring injury after halftime and a big hit from the Chargers that sent him to the medical tent for two plays to be evaluated for a head injury.

“I know (No.) 6 is probably going to be sore,” Daboll said. “I mean, he gutted it out. Son’s a tough son of a you know what. He’s tough, but I knew that.”

The Giants’ defense also made big plays when it counted most, including Brian Burns’ sack of Justin Herbert that forced the Chargers to punt late in the game. Then, Dart and the offense took over and milked the clock before giving Herbert and Los Angeles one final try — but with just 18 seconds left.

After an incompletion, Herbert completed a 22-yard pass to Quentin Johnston, who was tackled by Cor’Dale Flott and couldn’t get out of bounds — ending the game.

“We just didn’t execute,” Herbert said. “The defense made some big stops and got us the ball back. It’s on us as an offense to go down there and score.”

Herbert finished 23 of 41 for 203 yards and a touchdown to Johnston, but was also intercepted twice. Rookie Omarion Hampton ran for 128 yards, including a 54-yard TD, on 12 carries.

Strong start

Dart ran for a 15-yard touchdown to cap an impressive 90-yard drive on New York’s opening possession.

After the Chargers punted on their first series, Dart and the Giants took the field at their 10 — and the quarterback received a standing ovation from the MetLife Stadium crowd as he jogged from the sideline.

He connected with a sliding Nabers for a 13-yard completion to make it first-and-10 at the 15, and then ran it in to put New York up 7-0.

After the Giants punted on their second possession, they got the ball back shortly after when Dexter Lawrence tipped Herbert’s pass at the line, snatched it out of the air and rumbled 38 yards to the Chargers 3 before Herbert tackled him, saving a touchdown.

New York setted for a 22-yard field goal by Jude McAtamney — kicking in place of the injured Graham Gano — to go up 10-0 1:13 into the second quarter.

Charging back

With the Chargers trailing 13-3 late in the second, Abdul Carter jumped offside on fourth down to keep Los Angeles’ drive alive. On the next play, Herbert connected with Johnston on a 36-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 27 seconds left before halftime.

Two plays after Dru Phillips’ interception of Herbert, Dart shoveled a pass to Johnson for a 3-yard touchdown. Cam Skattebo ran in the 2-point conversion — punctuating it with a backflip in the end zone — to put New York up 21-10 with 2:49 left in the quarter.

Los Angeles quickly answered back on Hampton’s 54-yard touchdown run — the longest by a rookie in franchise history. Herbert made it a three-point game with a run on the 2-point conversion.

“It stinks,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of the loss. “Guys fought. Guys battled. We weren’t able to, and I wasn’t able to put us in position to win the game.”

Up next

Chargers: Host the Washington Commanders next Sunday.

Giants: Face the Saints in New Orleans next Sunday.