QB Jaxson Dart and RB Cam Skattebo - Brennan Asplen/New York Giants.com
It’s been a long time coming for the New York Giants. Since the firing of Tom Coughlin, the New York Giants have only sniffed the playoffs two times.
Now in their fourth season under head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen, both formerly with the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants started the season (1-4) and inserted rookie QB Jaxson Dart to save their jobs.
New York Giants Watershed Moment
On Thursday, October 9th, the Giants may have turned their season around with an earth-shattering defeat of the (4-1) Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants wanted to plot revenge against the former Giant running back Saquon Barkley, who now owns a Super Bowl ring in the City of Brotherly Love.
This moment will also go down in history for the Giants’ young quarterback, Dart, who led the G-Men to a signature first win against the LA Chargers in his NFL debut. After taking a dip, losing to the New Orleans Saints, the rookie was back at home, where he shines the best.
In his first Thursday night start at home, Dart scrambled his way into the end zone for a touchdown while rookie running back Cam Skattebo ran for three scores, grabbing the win 34-17.
This gives the G-Men their second win at home, while the reigning Super Bowl Champs have lost their second in a row.
New York Giants Key Takeaways
Dart completed the game at 16 of 24 for 187 yards and a touchdown, along with 13 carries for 58 yards and a score. Additionally, the Giants held themselves to zero turnovers, whereas they had five against the Saints last Sunday.
On all three drives in the red zone, the Big Blue converted 11 of 16 third downs, all of which resulted in scores.
The Giants’ run defense also stepped up in a big way. They limited Barkley to just 58 yards on 12 carries after he had only run for 30 yards the previous week. They also detained the Eagles to just 73 rushing yards overall, the least they have permitted all year.
As a team, the defense forced the Eagles to go 1-9 on third downs.
Giants’ Special Teams
In addition, the Giants activated kicker Jude McAtamney to the 53-man roster. He was added from the practice squad due to Graham Gano being placed on injured reserve. He made all of his field goal attempts, but unfortunately, missed his second extra point wide right.
Former Patriot wide receiver Gunnar Olszewski helped create the Giants’ second touchdown score with a kickoff return of 37 yards.
Giants’ Next Game
With the win, the Giants improved their record to (2-4) overall and will now travel to Mile High Stadium to face the (4-2) Denver Broncos. Now, Dart will have to win two games in a row for the Giants and help him earn his first NFL road win.
Dart and the Big Blue look great, and if he and Skattebo keep developing, Daboll and Schoen should be back with the Giants for year 5.
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