Jaxson Dart's winning debut feels like the start of something for Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD - Jaxson Dart was among the few players remaining in the Giants locker room. You could tell he was sore. The way he moved from the far corner showers to his stall, how he now stood now collecting himself. Those six sacks, 10 hits laid on him by the Chargers defense radiated over him.

That's when Brian Daboll joined his quarterback. The two had already embraced each other on the field, but this was different. It was quieter now, less around. Daboll reached his hand out, grabbed the back of Dart's neck and brought him close. They held each other close. Daboll then walked away with a smile.

This felt like the start of something.

The Giants beat the previously unbeaten Chargers on Sunday, 21-18. They did it behind a ferocious pass rush of their own and that young quarterback, who showed exactly why his coach turned to him with his back against the wall.

It says a lot about our guys," said Daboll. It says a lot about No. 6."

The Giants will likely play the rest of the season without all-world receiver Malik Nabers, whom the team fears tore his ACL late in the first half. It's a brutal blow. Nabers is not only the team's most explosive offensive threat, but one of the best in the entire league. You don't replace him because you can't replace him. He's that good.

That's a story for Monday, though, when an MRI will confirm what New York already knows. Sunday's about Daboll saving his job by his young quarterback showing why he was right to believe.

Dart is supposed to be green. A full year sitting, watching, developing a necessity. Most believed, during the pre-draft process, Dart would be a detriment to himself and those around him if he played early. Daboll saw none of that. Dart passed every test and cleared every hurdle this offseason. He was ready. It's why the Giants named him their backup. It's why they had a package of plays for him to begin the year.

It's why, with the team winless through three and the offense inept in two, Daboll turned to him. To save himself, this team from another year of embarrassment.

He's the guy who believed in me from Day 1," said Dart. When you have a coach who you know has your back, I'm going to go out there and do everything I can for him to win."

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) calls a play during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Sunday was not perfect. Some of those six sacks were because he held the ball too long. He missed some reads. His inaccuracies thwarted other drives. The Chargers are also a pretty good team. They came in 3-0 for a reason. One of those reasons was a defense ranked top 10 in yards and points allowed.

That's what made Dart's successes so impressive. He marched the Giants 75 yards on the first drive of his career, capping it with a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle on a quarterback draw. The Giants scored points on three of their first four possessions.

They sputtered in the second half, as expected, without Nabers, but with the game on the line, Daboll put the game in the hands of his signal caller.

"There's nothing about him that's typical of a rookie," said tight end Theo Johnson. There's poise. Everyone just rallied behind him - he's got great energy and everyone's got a ton of respect for him."

The Giants had the ball nursing a three-point lead with 2:38 left in the game. It was third and five. The Chargers had just stopped the clock with their second timeout. Conventional wisdom tells you to run the ball, especially with a young quarterback. Make L.A. use their last timeout after, don't risk a rookie mistake. Punt the ball. Play defense. Daboll said no.

The coach and coordinator, Mike Kafka, radioed a play Daboll had run 10-plus years into the helmet of Dart. It called for Johnson to come off the line left and keep moving across the field. Dart and Johnson improvised.

During his film study earlier in the week, Dart noticed that with that play call, the defense tended to vacate the middle of the field. Dart pointed it out to Johnson. He said if they got that look, and that call came in, don't move. Sit down in the middle for an easy pitch-and-catch.

The call came in. The two got their look. Johnson sat down. Dart found him for 10 yards. The Chargers didn't touch the ball again until 18 seconds remained.

It was kind of a cool moment to see that happen in a big situation like that," Dart said.

Dart finished 13 of 20 (65 percent) for 111 yards with a touchdown. He rushed 10 times for 54 yards and another score. Dart is only the second player since 2000 with a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown, and 50 rushing yards in his first career start, per ESPN Stats and Information. Tim Tebow, in 2010, was the other.

Daboll was different behind the podium in the bowels of MetLife Stadium. A win will do that for you. He spoke confidently, brashly at times. He joked with reporters, throwing questions back at them. He was relaxed, at ease.

It was quite the seven days for the embattled coach. The organization preferred to stick with Russell Wilson a bit longer, giving Dart more time to develop. Daboll insisted on starting the rookie. He stressed during his Wednesday news conference that this was his decision - no one else's. If it failed, he'd take the fall, but Dart, barring injury, would start the remainder of the season.

You can define that as conviction or defiance. The truth might lie somewhere in the middle. If things went poorly on Sunday, there was a feeling this could have been Daboll's last on New York's sideline.

It won't be. Because the world got a glimpse into what Daboll's seen since Dart arrived.

There's something special about the rookie. Things are different when he's out there.

This experience was a special one," Dart said.

Indeed it was.