a commanding sweep

The Giants getting swept by Washington isn’t something that happens often, but when it does, it’s a glaring sign that things are wrong, really, really wrong.

The first half of this game was eerily similar to their start in New England: bad offense, bad defense, and horrible special teams. In the second half, however, the offense finally started moving the ball, and the defense created multiple turnovers. For the first time in a long while, the Giants showed some heart, a quality that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but is promising nonetheless.

Although the Giants ultimately lost to a division rival starting their backup QB, it wasn’t all bad. The biggest bright spot of the day was Abdul Carter. Despite dealing with off-field media issues, Carter was absolutely dominant, recording a career-high five solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a sack. It was great to see him finally looking like the third-overall pick he was drafted to be. Since the media drama (and the firing of Shane Bowen) he has appeared much more comfortable in his role.

Jaxson Dart, meanwhile, had more of a classic rookie outing. He missed multiple open throws, took too long to make decisions, and put the ball in dangerous spots, including one turnover. The most glaring mistakes came on the Giants’ final drive. He missed not one, but two crucial throws. As much as I dislike “team captain” Darius Slayton, if Dart had led him out of bounds on third-and-eight, the Giants would have had an easy first down with the clock stopped. He then made a similar mistake on the fourth down play, with a pass to Wan’Dale Robinson, opting to throw up a prayer to the 5’8” receiver rather than safely lead him out of bounds and keep the drive alive.

(image via Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com)

But those things are going to happen with a rookie QB, and I'm confident he'll work out these kinks, My worries have more to do with these head injuries that seem to happen every game now. On a broken play in the third quarter, he was hit awkwardly and forced to undergo a concussion evaluation. It didn’t appear serious, and he returned shortly after, but seeing him in the blue tent all the time is becoming increasingly worrisome.

After the game, Dart said, “I’m not really sure what the reason was that I had to come out of the game. It was weird. I don’t understand it.” He added that it wasn’t a big hit and he was surprised to be forced off the field.

My concern isn’t with Dart’s toughness. He’s already proven he can handle hits, but the bigger issue is the cumulative effect of taking so many hits and the risk of missing time in the future. This brings us back to the need for strong leadership in the locker room, especially for young players like him. But I digress.

With just three games left, the Giants currently hold the number one overall all pick in the draft, which in a year like this holds a lot of value. Next week the Giants host the Vikings coming of their big win on Sunday Night Football.