Giants QB Jaxson Dart laments mistakes in turnover-filled loss in New Orleans

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The glow of a debut victory has faded for Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants.

All it took was one ugly showing in New Orleans. One week after replacing Russell Wilson and leading the Giants to a much-needed win, Dart and his teammates were knocked backward (both physically and emotionally) in a 26-14 loss to the Saints.

The defining theme of the day: Turnovers. After taking a 14-3 lead early in the first half, the Giants gave away possession five times, opening the door and welcoming the Saints in for a comeback effort that stood the test of 60 minutes.

“We have to cut that (stuff) out, and it starts with me just being a leader,” Dart said, via The Associated Press. “As a quarterback, I put that on myself. I told the guys in the locker room this one’s on me and I’m going to get better.”

In what remained a winnable game until late in the fourth quarter, New York imploded with an avalanche of giveaways rivaling the most charitable moments of The Oprah Winfrey Show . It began in the second quarter with Darius Slayton‘s fumble forced after catching a short pass, gifting the Saints another end-of-half scoring opportunity moments after kicker Blake Grupe had wasted one by missing a 52-yard field goal wide left.

The contributions continued in the second half when Dart fumbled without being touched while scrambling left, ending a drive that had only just crossed over into Saints territory with the Giants trailing 16-14.

“It just fell out of my hand,” Dart said afterward.

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The errors truly began to bury the Giants in the fourth quarter when Dart threw a desperate pass into traffic on fourth down and watched Kool-Aid McKinstry snag it for his first career interception. Dart added one more interception in the fourth quarter on a play in which receiver Beaux Collins stopped running his route short of Dart’s intended target, leading to McKinstry’s second interception and extinguishing the Giants’ flickering hopes of a comeback.

One cannot forget the most pivotal turnover of all: Deep in Saints territory at the start of the fourth quarter in a 19-14 game, rookie running back Cam Skattebo had the ball punched out of his grasp by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, knocking the ball free for safety Jordan Howden to recover and return 86 yards for a touchdown.

“He got it out perfectly, and I handed them a touchdown,” Skattebo said. “He punched the ball from the backside, and I didn’t hold on tightly enough.”

In total, the Giants rattled off five possessions that ended as follows: fumble, fumble, fumble, interception, interception. Their final drive of the game reached New Orleans’ 17 before ending in a turnover on downs.

That last one doesn’t count in the ledger, thankfully. Five is already enough.

“Five turnovers to zero, you’re not going to win in this league,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Those kill you. Most of them were on the plus-50 or down there in the scoring zone.”

Daboll knows all too well how fine the margin of victory is in the NFL. He’ll have to spend the week correcting the mistakes that produced the cavalcade of giveaways with the hope it effects positive change, puts Dart back on a promising track and renders this performance a distant memory.

“It’s about winning. I don’t take any excuse for age or being a rookie,” Dart said. “There’s a responsibility when you’re a quarterback to be able to win games.”

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