Why Jaxson Dart Is the Offensive Rookie of the Year

Just to be clear, Tyler Shough is a good quarterback. The New Orleans Saints made the right choice when they selected him with the 40th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Choosing a quarterback to lead your franchise is not, contrary to popular opinion, a slam dunk. Even the best have a learning curve. Peyton Manning, in his rookie season, led the league in interceptions. But as good as Shough has been this season, Jaxson Dart has been better.

This is not a subjective opinion; it's an objective analysis. In virtually every metric that matters, Dart is the better quarterback. Below is a comparison of both players stats.

While Shough has a slightly higher completion percentage and a few more passing yards, Dart has more overall yards, more passing touchdowns, more total touchdowns, fewer interceptions, a higher QBR and a higher passer rating. But the biggest thing that stands out is his passer rating against elite teams. No team in the NFL had a tougher strength of schedule this season than the Giants. Dart had to play the Eagles (twice) the Chargers, the Broncos, the Bears, the Patriots and the 49ers - all teams that have a legitimate shot of going deep in the postseason - and he had a passer rating of 98.5 against them. 

By comparison, the only team Shough had to face that has a legitimate shot of going deep in the postseason is the Rams, and he had a passer rating of 81.2 against them. Most of his success has come against the likes of the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and the Jets; the latter was dead last in the NFL with an opponent passer rating of 110.9.

Fans of Shough bring up his wins, passing yards per game and passing yards per attempt. Anyone who's watched even one football game knows full well that no one player determines wins and losses. It's the ultimate team sport. The Giants lost five games this season in which they led by double digits; four of those losses came in the fourth quarter. If they had any kind of defense at all, they'd have at least four more wins. Putting that squarely on Dart's shoulders is not only unfair, it's stupid.

As for passing yards per game and passing yards per attempt, the former is a direct result of the game plan implemented by the offensive coordinator; the latter can be very easily manipulated. For instance, a QB can complete 20 passes for an average of six yards per completion; then pop two for 60 yards a piece. That comes out to 10.9 yards per catch. But is that really an honest way to evaluate his talent? I hardly think so.

Dart has other accolades in his favor. He's the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to register 1,800 passing yards, 400 rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns in his first nine regular-season starts. Unlike so many rookies, he doesn't wilt under pressure. Indeed, the better the competition, the better he plays. He's the perfect fit for a New York market that chews up and spits out lesser athletes. Just imagine what he could've done had Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo not been lost to season-ending injuries.

This is not about bashing Tyler Shough. As I mentioned above, he's a good quarterback. After years of searching for Drew Brees' replacement, the Saints appear to have found him. This is about acknowledging the obvious: Jaxson Dart is the better player. He deserves to win the offensive rookie of the year award.

If he doesn't, there should be an investigation.

Enough Was Enough

Let's be honest: we all knew the season was over after the collapse in Denver three weeks ago. You didn't think the Giants were beating the Philadelphia Eagles or San Francisco 49ers, did you? Neither did I. It wasn't a question of whether a change had to be made, but when.

Well the "when" came yesterday after the Giants blew a ten-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. That's four times this season New York has lost a game in which they held a double-digit lead; this latest one was the final straw, so the organization "relieved" head coach Brian Daboll of his duties.

I have no problem with the decision. Daboll was 20-40-1 as head coach, but only 11-33 since 2023. He had to go. My only question is why wasn't defensive coordinator Shane Bowen also shown the door? It was his play-calling that directly led to two of those four losses. Indeed, you could easily make the case that had this team defended better, they'd be 5-5, instead of 2-8. And with the worst of the schedule behind them, it's conceivable that the Giants could've been in the playoff hunt going into December. Instead, the only hunt they'll be in is for the number one pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They currently have the third pick.

That might be the reason why Joe Schoen was retained. In the end, John Mara and Steve Tisch must've felt that, talent wise, the team was headed in the right direction. That isn't to say Schoen hasn't made some mistakes. The decision to give Daniel Jones such a large contract, in hindsight, turned out not to be such a good idea; the whole Saquon Barkley fiasco could've been handled better; and some his draft picks - Evan Neal, Jalin Hyatt and Deonte Banks - haven't exactly panned out.

That being said, the Giants have their franchise quarterback in place; they have an elite receiver and two outstanding running backs; their front seven - at least on paper - is certainly more capable than what they've shown. With some improvements to the secondary, a place-kicker who can stay healthy and the right coaching staff in place, this team should be vastly improved in the standings next season. 

Regarding the latter, who do the Giants hire? If I had my druthers, I'd go with someone along the lines of a Dan Campbell or Mike Vrabel; a no-nonsense coach who holds his players accountable and isn't risk averse. I'm not piling on here, but when Daboll elected to take the field goal rather than go for it on fourth and goal from the one-yard line, I knew the Giants were going to lose. The message that sends to your players is that you don't believe in them. And any coach who doesn't believe in his players has no business being their coach. I guarantee you that Campbell and Vrabel would never do that to their players.

If the Giants are looking for a name, Mike Tomlin makes perfect sense. He's well respected by his players and he has the distinction of being the only active head coach in the NFL to not have a losing season in his 18 years with the Steelers. But would Pittsburgh be willing to let him out of his contract which runs through 2027? Given that the Mara and Rooney families are practically joined at the hip, I'm sure a phone call from John to Art Jr. might get it done. 

If neither option is available, then I would go with someone who can run an offense, like Kliff Kingsbury, former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and now offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. If he's not available, perhaps Joe Brady of the Bills might suffice. But would Mara and Schoen really want to hire another offensive coordinator with no head-coaching experience? I doubt it. 

One reason the Giants may have fired Daboll now instead of waiting until the end of the season is to give Mike Kafka a look see. The offensive coordinator has been instrumental in Jaxson Dart's development. If he does a good job as interim head coach over the next seven games, they may elect to give him the job permanently.

Whichever route they choose, the Giants will need a defensive coordinator who can actually coach a defense. Ironically, they had one in Wink Martindale, but when Daboll fired two of his assistants, he resigned in protest. That led to the hiring of Bowen, who was the polar opposite of Martindale. 

One man I hope they don't hire is Bill Belichick. There's no doubt about his Hall of Fame bonafides, but with everything that's unfolded at North Carolina, it's obvious that the former New England Patriots head coach is just cashing in on his name. Why on Earth would the Giants want to bring that circus to MetLife?

A lot of possibilities out there for Big Blue, to be sure. Mara and Schoen need to get this one right. The fanbase has suffered long enough.

A New Hope

Week one of the Jaxson Dart era is now officially in the books and the reviews couldn't be better. In his first start in the NFL, Dart showed poise, ability and good judgment, as the New York Giants beat the Los Angeles Chargers 21-18 at MetLife Stadium for their first win of the season. But more than that, Dart gave his head coach, his GM, the franchise and its fanbase something they haven't had in a long time: hope.

After last week's abysmal "effort" by Russell Wilson against the Kansas City Chiefs, the natives weren't just growing restless; they were getting downright ornery. Another phone-in performance like that and the fans would've started wearing bags over their heads. I've seen it; it ain't pretty.

Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka drew up a game plan for Dart that was deliberately simple, but still gave the rookie enough latitude to show off the skillset that made Joe Schoen trade back into the first round to pluck him in the Draft. In his first possession, Dart took his team 89 yards on 9 plays, helped by a 14-yard pass interference penalty, and capped off by a 15-yard quarterback draw to put the Giants up 7-0. It was the first time the Chargers had allowed a first quarter touchdown this season.

Dart was very effective going through his progressions, particularly on third down, where the Giants as a team were 7/15. Overall, he was 13/20 for 111 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.0. He also rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries. By comparison, Eli Manning's slash line in his first start was 17/37, 162, 1-2, 45.1.

Cam Skattebo, another impressive rookie drafted by Schoen in the fourth round, also had a solid game, rushing for 79 yards on 25 carries. In all, the Giants ran the ball 42 times for 161 yards. With Tyrone Tracy out with a dislocated shoulder the next couple of weeks, Skattebo will have to carry most of the load in the backfield.

But as good as Dart and Skattebo were, it was the defense that stole the show, especially the front seven. Led by Brian Burns, Abdul Carter (the third pick in the '25 Draft), Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, they had 20 pressures, 12 hits and two sacks against Justin Herbert. They also forced two interceptions, which led to 11 points for the Jints. It was the first time this season that the Giants held an opponent to under 20 points, and the first time since week 16 last season against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife that they led in all four quarters of a game. In case you're wondering, the Giants don't have many of these games.

But the news was not all good for Big Blue. Malik Nabers, whose 1204 yards was good enough to finish fifth in the voting for rookie of the year last season, suffered a torn ACL in his right leg in the second quarter and is out for the rest of the season. The star wideout had 18 receptions for 271 yards when he went down. Against the Cowboys two weeks ago, he led all New York receivers with 167 yards on 9 receptions and two touchdowns. His presence will be sorely missed.

All things considered, though, the Giants did what they had to do Sunday: win the game. They are now 1-3. If they beat the Saints in New Orleans next week - which they should - they will be 2-3. Before the start of the season, I said the Giants had a chance of going 3-6 in their first nine games. With the Philadelphia Eagles (twice), the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers all upcoming, they could still do it.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The headline here is that the Giants have found their quarterback. 

And his name is Jaxson Dart.