Giants rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter stood in the locker room, donning mono rectangle sunglasses, following Big Blue's 21-18 upset victory over the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers and uttered the phrase on the tip of every New York fan's tongue.
"The future is now," he said.
The youthful Giants showed why that future could finally be bright enough to warrant Carter's indoor shades.
Making his first start, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart displayed heady playmaking, using his arm and legs to move the chains against a good Chargers defense, and avoided the backbreaking mistakes that have plagued the Giants.
"It was just special to get the first one. This is just the start," Dart said, via the team’s official website.
Dart's career as a starter got off to a smashing beginning. He led Big Blue on an 89-yard net yard drive in nine plays, capped off by a 15-yard rushing score. He became the first QB since Patrick Mahomes to lead his team to an 80-plus yard TD drive on the first possession of his first career start. The Giants would never relinquish the lead.
The passing numbers don't pop off the screen, with Dart completing 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards with a touchdown. He took five sacks, but a few of them were simply due to lack of experience -- i.e., not seeing where the free rusher would come from after a line shift. Those are correctable errors. He avoided the big turnover and got the ball out of his hands quickly.
Dart's ability to avoid the pass rush, not turtle, like Russell Wilson had for much of the first three games, and make plays on the move brought a refreshing element to the Giants' offense. Dart rushed for 54 yards and a TD on 10 carries. More importantly, he earned five first downs with those runs.
The performance, while just one outing, showed Dart's upside and why the Giants leaped back into the first round to select the raw product. With seasoning, he can become a dynamic player. He might also save head coach Brian Daboll's job.
"Me and Dabs just have a special relationship. He's the guy that believed in me from Day 1," Dart said. "I think it does say a lot that he made the decision and had the confidence in me. Even just giving me the ball in those situations on a third down to make a play. I know that when you have a coach who you know has your back, I'm going to go out there and do everything I can for him to win."
As clubs get more tape on Dart, things won't always be as pristine as they were Sunday, but the upside is obvious.
"I got a lot of confidence in our rookie quarterback," Daboll said. "But he's a rookie quarterback, so there's going to be mistakes that'll be made. We know that. There'll be more next week, there was some this week. It's not going to be perfect."
Dart wasn't the only first-year Giant who shined on Sunday. Carter generated a team-high eight QB pressures. While he didn't get in the sack-column, he beat his man often and was in Justin Herbert's face, continually disrupting the Chargers' offense. Add in Cam Skattebo leading the way with 79 rushing yards on 25 attempts, and it was a banner day for the young Giants.
The rookies might just save a lot of jobs in New York if they continue to play like they did Sunday.
