Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo weren’t around for the Giants being dominated by the Eagles since 2014. Thursday night was their first taste of this NFC East rivalry.
The rookie duo didn’t care about walking into bad history. They want to create new history, and they had plenty to do with the Giants’ 34-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champions at MetLife Stadium.
Dart was 17-for-25 for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran for 58 yards and a TD. Skattebo ran for a career-best 98 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. But more important, neither turned the ball over after they accounted for four of the Giants’ five turnovers in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.
“Me and Skatt talked about last week. We felt like it was just on us losing that game,” said Dart, who improved to 2-0 at home as a starter. “We moved the ball just fine, so our big emphasis was just to make sure that we take care of the ball.”
For the third straight game, Dart led the Giants (2-4) to a touchdown on their opening drive, this time with him running for a 20-yard score.
According to the NFL, Dart became the second quarterback since 1991 to finish opening drives with a touchdown in his first three career starts. The first? Patrick Mahomes.
With the defense creating two turnovers, the Giants got a complete effort to snap an eight-game losing streak against NFC East opponents dating to last season. The Eagles (4-2) entered the game having beaten the Giants 19 times in their last 23 meetings.
That history proved ancient for one day. Cor’Dale Flott intercepted Jalen Hurts and returned it 68 yards, and Skattebo ended the Giants’ ensuing drive with a 1-yard run, making him the first Giants player to have three rushing touchdowns in a game since 2011.
Instead of celebrating with his usual backflip, Skattebo did a cartwheel leading into a backflip. It was a different energy that the rookie hoped to instill.
“This franchise has been a losing franchise the last couple years, but that’s not who we are right now,” he said. “We need to continue to build each and every day and have these guys with positive mindsets and get away from that losing mindset.”
It starts with having a quarterback like Dart. He looked poised matching up against Hurts, a player he has tried to emulate. Dart used his arm and legs to extend plays, and it showed up on his TD pass.
On second-and-7 in the first quarter, the rookie danced in the pocket and escaped to find Wan’Dale Robinson near the sideline. Robinson broke a tackle and raced away for a 35-yard touchdown that gave the Giants a 13-3 lead.
After the Eagles scored twice to retake the lead at 17-13, Dart wasn’t rattled. He found Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who was elevated from the practice squad Thursday, for a 9-yard pass on third down. Dart converted another third-down pass to Jalin Hyatt for the receiver’s first catch of the season.
On second-and-4, Dart scrambled out of the pocket for a 7-yard gain. Skattebo ended the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run that helped make it 20-17 just before halftime. Dart and Skattebo danced together in unison in the end zone, and the Giants never trailed again.
“I’ve liked everything about Dart since we’ve got him,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “Again, it’s not perfect. It’s not going to be perfect. Whatever it may be, but he’s got toughness, he sees the field well, got athleticism, vision, leadership.”
There was brief worry in the third quarter when Dart didn’t immediately get up after a sack. He was tended to by the Giants’ training staff before popping up and running into the medical tent. For the second time this season, he was evaluated for a concussion and passed. Russell Wilson came in for two plays, but Dart returned to finish the game.
With Dart and Skattebo leading on the ground, the Giants had 172 rushing yards, and the defense kept the Eagles in check.
Saquon Barkley opened the game with carries of 18 and 13 yards, but the former Giant finished with 58 in his second game back at MetLife Stadium, a far cry from his 176-yard performance last season.
Brian Burns sacked Hurts twice, both on third down. The linebacker is tied for the NFL lead with seven and has at least one sack in five of the team’s six games. Dane Belton also forced a fumble that Dru Phillips recovered.
The defense did its job and the offense didn’t let them down. That was in part to Skattebo and Dart, who has given the Giants a needed spark since taking over as starter in Week 4.
“This guy is a good guy to have,” Daboll said. “Young and gotta go through some growing pains. But I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Jaxson Dart.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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