Jaxson Dart is well-acquainted with playing in unfriendly settings.
The rookie quarterback for the Giants cut his teeth at Ole Miss in the fiercely competitive SEC, where he frequently faced jeers from student sections at powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Georgia during away games.
“I like to hear it,” Dart said with a smile this week.
However, this Sunday at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, the atmosphere will be unique as the Giants (2-5) face the Eagles (5-2) in a much-anticipated rematch. Dart is fully aware of the stakes.
“It’s going to be intense for sure,” he remarked. “I’m eager to get out there, compete, and really soak in the charged atmosphere.”
Dart embraces the role of the antagonist.
“Yeah, I suppose I enjoy it a bit,” he confessed.
There is more at stake here than a win over a hated NFC East rival, though.
The Giants haven’t won at the Eagles’ stadium since Josh Brown hit five field goals in a 15-7 win on Oct. 27, 2013.
They haven’t swept their two-game season series against Philly since the 2007 Super Bowl season.
This year’s Giants are 0-4 on the road.
And a decision on whether to trade assets for a No. 1 wide receiver before the NFL’s Nov. 4 deadline could hinge on a win or loss in this game.
“I think anybody finds it enjoyable when you’re able to win games on the road,” Dart said. “That’s something that we haven’t done yet, so we’re still chasing that.”
Dart earned the Eagles’ respect in a big way with his 34-17 win against them in Week 6 at MetLife Stadium.
Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who is not easy to impress, praised Dart’s skills after the Giants quarterback threw for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran 13 times for 58 yards and another score.
“The teams that need quarterbacks that bypassed him [in the NFL Draft], they’re gonna regret that,” Fangio said. “Obviously very athletic, an elite scrambler.”
The question is whether the Giants operation around Dart can support him sufficiently.
Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka worrisomely did not even acknowledge the game clock as a factor in their decision to throw the ball with Dart on his third down interception during last Sunday’s 33-32 collapse in Denver.
“I thought the play call that Mike called was a good play call,” Daboll said. “I thought it was an aggressive call to make a good play against the right coverage, what we anticipated to get. Credit Denver, they made a play.”
Kafka added: “I think those decisions always come down to just your confidence level in the quarterback and in the players.”
But those explanations are not good enough. They do not inspire confidence that Daboll or Kafka will know what to do differently the next time.
Daboll is in charge of managing the Giants’ games. He hasn’t shown an ability to do that capably, which is why that loss to the Broncos was not surprising, although it was devastating and nearly historically impossible.
Kafka is striving for a head coach opportunity down the road. He would be wise to understand why that play call and situation helped cost the Giants a game that they had a 99.3% chance of winning with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, meanwhile, is under the hottest spotlight after the Giants surrendered all 33 Denver points in that fourth quarter, Daboll screamed at Bowen on the sideline and edge rusher Brian Burns vented about a late defensive mistake.
Daboll, Bowen and Brian Burns all did their best this week to clean up the optics, saying they had no problem with one another or Bowen’s “drop eight” play call on a key Denver completion on the game’s final drive.
And Bowen even blamed himself for not having defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on the field for that play.
“I have to do a better job in that situation making sure he’s on the field,” Bowen said.
But Bowen is working at a steep disadvantage in this matchup, even with star Eagles receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) sidelined.
Starting corner Paulson Adebo (knee) and safety Jevon Holland (knee) both are out and not making the trip to Philadelphia. And Lawrence has not been the same player this season.
The typically dominant interior lineman did not enter this season with the same conditioning level he has in the past coming off last season’s dislocated elbow. And he aggravated something in the elbow early this season, so he’s wearing a large brace over it and does not appear to be generating anything close to his normal impact.
So Bowen, frankly, didn’t need to apologize for that personnel decision in Denver. What he needs to do Sunday is two things: Stop Saquon Barkley and unleash someone other than Burns — who is tied with an NFL-leading nine sacks — in the pass rush scheme.
The Eagles are going to run the ball more in this matchup than they did two weeks ago in New Jersey, probably at the edges, especially with Deonte Banks on the field at corner. Discipline and tackling from the Giants’ defense will be paramount.
Burns’ injuries to his foot and hip are also likely to limit him significantly. So even though Burns is playing, look for Bowen to try to use Burns’ threat on the interior or on stunts to free up the healthier Kayvon Thibodeaux (2.5 sacks) and Abdul Carter (0.5 sacks) for opportunities to chase Jalen Hurts.
Bowen, whose seat is as hot as anyone’s, noted that the entire Giants operation is “in this thing together.”
“One way or another, good, bad, indifferent, we’re in this thing together,” he said.
That includes GM Joe Schoen, whose roster again will be under the microscope as the Giants once again change kickers off Jude McAtamney’s two missed extra points in Denver.
At least the Giants have Dart, who enters Philadelphia with the right attitude coming off last week’s catastrophic loss.
“I pride myself on trying not to let things in the past affect what I’m going to do in the future,” Dart said. “As a team, we can’t let that happen. We’ve got to find ways to finish games, we’ve got to find ways to win games and get on a roll.
“We have to be very present in each moment that we have,” he added. “We have to play each game individually as hard as we can to make sure that things like last week … don’t happen.”
Does Dart have enough to overcome what is happening around him, though? That’s a constant question being asked every week he takes the field.
Sunday’s game feels as big as they come.
