EAST RUTHERFORD — Hope for the Giants to finally turn the franchise around is supposed to revolve around Jaxson Dart. He’s the promising young quarterback who has shown a penchant for elite play-making in the pocket. He can sling the football and he can tuck it and run. He has a moxie made for N ew York, the type of winning attitude that is necessary to change a losing culture. But none of that will matter if the Giants don’t eventually surround him with the proper support system, as evidenced Sunday when the offense took another step backwards in a 16-13 loss to the Vikings at MetLife Stadium. Although the Giants had a run-heavy game plan to neutralize Minnesota’s pressure packages, it was jarring that Dart didn’t complete a pass until the 1:42 mark of the second quarter. It went for two yards. That was all he did in the first half, along with throwing one interception and nearly two, and he was sacked three times. For the game, he completed 7-of-13 passes for a measly 33 yards and was sacked five times, so the Giants’ net passing was 13 yards. Dart said he had never been part of a passing total that low before in any football game. He was also asked about losing becoming the norm again for the 2-13 Giants. “It’s just a new experience I’ve never been through before,” said Dart, whose Ole Miss and USC teams went 34-14 when he was in college. “That doesn’t make it any easier than what it is, and you just try to do the best to stay positive as much as you can. There’s just a quick turnaround each week. I feel like the times where you hang on a loss for too long, it goes into your next game week prep. That’s kind of just the mentality and process that I’ve just tried to have.” Dart just hasn’t quite looked right since coming back from a concussion three weeks ago. The Giants’ offense has driven for just 42 points in three games after holding fourth-quarter leads in four of the previous six games during their nine-game losing streak. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, 6, throws the ball as he’s pressured by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman, 51, during an NFL game on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. (Mike Schwartz/ mikeschwartzphoto.com) Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ mixed coverages and usage of Cover 0 (man-to-man coverage with more blitzers) caused problems for the Giants on Sunday. They converted only 2-of-10 third downs and 1-of-3 fourth downs. “I thought Jaxson overall with the plan, he understood the plan and at the line of scrimmage he was doing a good job of seeing it and being decisive of what he wanted to do,” interim head coach Mike Kafka said. “I think as he learns, and as he sees more of these, the ability to get the ball out just a touch faster, use some of those sights and keep his mind clear on it, and not put himself in a bad spot, because I thought he had some opportunities downfield … but it’s not just one guy. Everyone has to see it the same way and we’ve got to go out there and execute better.” This isn’t close to being all on Dart. His interception against the Vikings was because tight end Theo Johnson dropped a ball right in his lap, which has happened too often this season. The same goes for wide receiver Darius Slayton. And while every team deals with injuries, especially in December, it should be noted All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas hurt his hamstring in the second quarter and didn’t return. Center John Michael Schmitz got hurt in the fourth quarter. Left guard Jon Runyan Jr. was inactive as well because his wife was in labor. That hurt the protection up front. But the bottom line is this was a throwback to some of the darkest days of the Giants’ offense in this era, which has seen 11 different quarterbacks including Dart since Eli Manning’s retirement in 2020. Heck, Dart’s passing yards on Sunday rivaled Giants games in 2021 quarterbacked by Mike Glennon (24) and Jake Fromm (25) when Joe Judge was the head coach. The point is the Giants not only desperately need wide receiver Malik Nabers back healthy next season. They need to acquire a legitimate No. 1 tight end and probably two more wideouts (or one if they re-sign Wan’Dale Robinson). And they absolutely need a new coaching staff that is going to promote Dart’s growth rather than stymie it. The Giants’ offense had tons of help Sunday, too, unlike some days this season when the deck has been stacked against it. The defense allowed a season-low 240 total yards and forced two turnovers including a fumble return for a touchdown. That fumble was forced by Brian Burns, who had two sacks and now has 15 in his Defensive Player of the Year-caliber campaign. Yet the offense simply could not come up with a game-tying or game-winning drive after falling behind by three points in the fourth quarter. Andrew Van Ginkel’s sack of Dart on fourth-and-3 from the Giants’ 47 with 2:05 left eradicated New York’s last hope. “You trust the game plan,” Dart when asked if the Giants had enough answers to what the Vikings ran on defense. “You have those conversations with the coaches, and you just do your best to execute. For myself and for our team, we had a lot of opportunities and we didn’t do that at a level enough to win the game.” Greg Johnson covers the New York Giants and NFL for MediaNews Group. Reach him at [email protected]. ...read more read less