Copyright Athlon Sports
Jaxson Dart was forced to exit Sunday’s matchup between the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. The rookie quarterback took a big hit in the third quarter, but was able to play on. Dart, however, was checked by the doctors at the end of the quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. The Giants ruled him out for the fourth quarter. The former Ole Miss Rebels star finished the game with 19-of-29 completed passes for 242 yards. He also had six carries for 66 yards and two rushing TDs. The Giants gave up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter after Dart’s exit. They allowed the Bears to score 14 points in the final frame, which resulted in Chicago escaping with a 24-20 victory. The Giants fell to 2-8 on the season after Sunday’s disappointing loss. It also marked their fourth consecutive defeat, and the fact that Dart is now potentially going to miss time because of his head injury adds further misery for New York. Head Coach Brian Daboll spoke to reporters after the game, and one of the questions he was asked was about the team allowing Dart to play on despite his head injury. Daboll admitted that the young quarterback was not checked for a concussion immediately after the incident. “Yeah, no, I mean, no. No, he wasn’t [checked],” Daboll said. “So, if they would have called him down, but when he was going in there, somebody said something. I’m like, ‘What? Don’t put him in.’” The Giants are now facing some intense backlash on social media for their decision not to have Dart checked for a concussion immediately after he sustained the head injury. The fans are also not pleased with how the 22-year-old QB was even allowed to play after being concussed. “I love the Giants, but I cannot allow them to destroy Dart’s future legacy. Get rid of every coach and GM for the organization, or let Dart go. It’s bigger than the Giants, although that’s my squad. Just pure negligence and fundamental incompetence on a front office level,” a comment on X read. “That man’s brain is going to be turned to mush by this franchise,” another said. “Coaches trying to save their own jobs rather than protect the player from themselves. It’s clear as day and they should be ashamed of themselves,” accused a user. “This is the second time that the Giants have mishandled Dart regarding being checked for a concussion,” a fan wrote. As that last comment indicated, Daboll was also involved in another Dart incident earlier in the season. In fact, the Giants coach apologized after he was seen rushing the team doctors as they checked Dart’s head injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. Daboll was fined $100,000 for interfering with the league’s concussion protocol. The Giants were also fined $200,000 over the incident. Some fans, however, pinned the blame on the NFL for their supposed negligence regarding Dart’s head injury on Sunday. “NFL supposed to have people to intercede before it’s even a coach’s decision. FAIL,” a reaction read. “Not the coaches job really… that’s NFL negligence if anything. They’ve pulled Dart like 4 times before this,” another said. “Don’t referees get signaled from a group above to check our players who smash their heads on the ground? How do we not care about our most important players health?” a user asked. Either way, Dart will now enter the league’s concussion protocol and could be forced to sit out multiple games because of this injury.
