The New York Giants punched the Dallas Cowboys in the mouth en route to a 28-20 Week 1 victory. A smash-mouth, varied rushing attack set the tone for New York, featuring heavy formations and plenty of under-center looks. But the efficient play of second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart was the catalyst behind the Giants’ rare victory over Dallas.
Dart finished 23 of 29 (79% completion rate) for 230 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, with 54 yards rushingon 11 carries. New York finished 9/11 on third
down, and Dart found answers to Christian Parker’s defense, which, in fairness, had several breakdowns in coverage/assingments.
Not only did Dart pass the eye-test, but the numbers back his performance up as well:
Courtesy of Doug Analytics, Dart’s +0.73 EPA/Play (Expected Points Added) ranked first, as well as his WPA/Play (Win Probability Added). As Doug states, Dart added 3.5 expected points on every five plays the Giants took — an elite performance by the second-year signal caller. Here’s what NFL Next Gen had to say about Dart’s performance, along with his throwing chart:
The Giants punted the football one time against Dallas, and they mounted four touchdown drives, as well as four drives of 10-plus plays. Dart wasn’t exactly slinging the ball all over the yard — he didn’t have to — but he led the offense, made the right checks, was in command for much of the game (he didn’t account for Caleb Downs on the EMPTY blitz), and made some high-level throws that allowed the Giants to maintain their time-consuming drives.
High-level throws
via GIPHY
The Giants faced this third-and-4 in the red zone. Stalling out and kicking a field goal was the normal outcome in these situations — last time the Giants opened against Dallas, it was a blocked field goal that Andrew Thomas hurt his hamstring on — but I digress.
The Giants align in 11 personnel, shot-gun, 3×1 set with a mesh concept over the middle of the field. Dallas ran a cover-four-match play and Isaiah Likely (9) ran the MOSH (man over) Odell Beckham Jr.’s (13) MUSH (man under). Daron Bland (26) seemed to be in MEG on the backside No. 1 (Beckham), and as the veteran receiver ran the MUSH, linebacker Dee Winters (53) pushed the MOSH (Likely) toward Bland and safety Malik Hooker (24).
Likely sat inside of Hooker, who was late to receive the push, and Dart did a fantastic job putting the football toward Likely’s inside shoulder — away from Hooker. The middle of the field was cleared out by the drag route from Beckham.
I appreciate how the mesh concept was Dart’s second read after he saw match principles when viewing his first read toward Malachi Fields (88) and Darnell Mooney (17). The latter was the No. 2 receiver (innermost), and he ran to the flat with Fields running a corner off his vertical stem. With the safety over top, Dallas matched three over two, and Dart came off the look and saw the vacated space in the middle of the field and Hooker’s depth. Precise ball placement and a calm read by Dart led to another third-down conversion on the Giants’ first drive.
via GIPHY
Up 7-0, just outside mid-field, Dart quickly processed the zone coverage and found Malik Nabers for 7 yards on second-and-9. Nabers ran the hook, and Fields ran the wheel as the No. 2 receiver. Dart had to wait for the curl/flat to expand with Cam Skattebo’s (44) flare route.
This put the Giants into a third-and-2 that they failed to convert, which led to their only punt of the game. There was plenty of discussion about Dart’s ability to operate quick game concepts efficiently throughout the off-season; sure, this was from the shotgun, and perhaps not perfect, but it did give New York the opportunity to convert on the following play.
via GIPHY
Dart extended a drive with this 19yard throw to Likely. Dallas was in Cover-1 and the Giants ran a DAGGER concept to the field. Dart quickly diagnosed man-coverage and attacked the corner route to Likely on the backside. Shavon Revel (28) faced the unfortunate task of guard Likely in space; the tight end manipulated Revel and exploded outside for the first down. Dart was phenomenal under pressure on the play, as the Giants’ offensive line had a rare mishap. Unfortunately, Tyrone Tracy Jr. would fumble plays later.
Two-minute drill
Dart executed an impressive two-minute drill after Jevon Holland’s interception.
Jon Runyan committed a false-start, which put the Giants into this third-and-9:
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
Dart successfully diagnosed the defense during his shotgun drop, prompting him to switch to the backside one (Nabers) and target vulnerabilities in the now-recognized Cover-2 defense. Dart put touch over the top of the flat defender and in front of the bailing-deep- half player. He was mentally and physically dialed in on this play when the lights were brightest in a crucial two-minute drill. He followed this third-and-9 conversion with this far-hash completion to Darnell Mooney (17):
via GIPHY
Dallas aligned in a Cover-3 strong-side buzz over Likely’s position against a 2×2 set. The deep third defender to the field lost leverage inside to Darnell Mooney’s vertical stem; Mooney exploded toward the sideline when the defender was on the numbers and the curl/flat was enticed to step forward due to the presence of Devin Singletary (26) in the flat. Dart planted and drove the football into Mooney; credit to Mooney for being a professional wide receiver and having soft hands and feet that are spatially aware.
Dart finished the two-minute drill by finding a wide-open Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone. The Cowboys had a blown coverage and Dart quickly recognized that two defenders reacted to Mooney’s whip route underneath. The No. 2 receiver on the previous play was Likely, who caught a whip route underneath.
Second half
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
The Giants opened the second half with a 12-play, 74-yard drive. On second-and-9, they picked up 16 yards on a catch that was heavily aided by play action. New York had already established the run, and Dallas failed to adjust, allowing the under-center play-action look to pull the linebackers toward the line of scrimmage. That created space for Dart to layer a touch pass over the top to Malik Nabers.
And then there was the Devin Singletary sequence:
The Giants’ coaching staff, Dart, and the entire Giants team just kept exploiting the vulnerable flats, while Dallas stayed at depth and kept multiple pairs of eyes on Nabers.
Dart’s rushing
Dart rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries. Dart showed vision that was coupled with timely play calls and designs from the Giants’ coaching staff.
via GIPHY
Final thoughts
Dart shined in the bright lights and is now technically 2-0 against Dak Prescott — a quarterback who only lost in his rookie season against the Giants up until Week 18 last year. Dart deserves praise, but the coaching staff’s overall identity and philosophy were magnificent in this game; the play calling, sequencing, rushing attack, and passing play designs put Dart in a position to succeed. New York imposed their will and defeated a good football team through and through, and their 23-year-old quarterback did an excellent job in the matchup.
