Jaxson Dart Throws Two Picks, Then Three Touchdowns in Same Giants Practice

Jaxson Dart had a rough start and a strong finish at the same practice. Rookie quarterbacks have days like that.

At the Giants' training camp at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Dart threw two interceptions against the second-team defense early in Wednesday's session, according to the New York Post. He then threw three touchdown passes during a red zone period later in practice.

Head coach Brian Daboll didn't downplay it. "The football response absolutely was there," Daboll said, according to the Post. "Yeah, he stepped up. A lot of third-down stuff we did. Fourth-down stuff, fourth down in the red zone to win the game, things like that. Yeah, he had a heck of a practice. It was impressive."

The interceptions came against the second team, not the starting defense. Daboll said he'd shifted from starters-versus-starters work in 11-on-11 drills to starters-versus-second-teamers, a change he said was about giving coordinators more flexibility to script specific calls and run longer competitive periods, not about manufacturing confidence for anyone.

The rebound mattered given what happened the day before. At Tuesday's practice, Dart scrambled left for a touchdown to cap a two-minute drill, then flipped the ball at cornerback Greg Newsome II's face after the score, according to Giants.com. Daboll flagged it as taunting on the spot, which pushed the resulting extra point back 15 yards.

Daboll addressed it directly with the team the next morning. "That's an opportunity for coaching points," Daboll said, according to the Post. "So, we went over the sequence, and everybody knows. He was great about it. He's great about accepting responsibility, and he's a very accountable guy."

Dart scored two more rushing touchdowns Wednesday and kept the celebrations in check this time.

Newsome, for his part, wasn't holding a grudge. "I'm a guy that chirps. I like stuff like that," Newsome said, according to the Post. "So, we were laughing at lunch about it literally after practice. We were about to post a little selfie. It was funny. I like the aggression. I like that with my quarterback. So, it's all good."

Newsome also flagged something that's becoming a running theme in camp: Dart's legs are a problem for the defense specifically because quarterbacks can't be hit in practice. "He's proven, though," Newsome said. "I mean, when he gets close to the end zone, he scores. I'm telling him he's not going to score. So, there's obviously going to be some back-and-forth all the time."

The two Giants.com practice reports fill in more of the day-to-day detail than the Post's write-up. Tuesday's padded practice, per Giants.com, ran two hours in low-80s heat with high humidity and ended with a scripted two-minute drill. The offense got the ball down six points with one timeout and 42 seconds left at the 18-yard line. Dart scored on the fifth play of that drive before the taunting penalty. Behind him, Jameis Winston hit Dalen Cambre on a quick out for a second-team score, and Brandon Allen connected with Ryan Miller on a back-shoulder throw for the third group.

Kicker Ben Sauls made 10 of 12 kicks Tuesday, including all four "must-have" extra points to seal the offense's win, one from 48 yards. The team also ran situational work on fourth-and-short and backed-up-at-the-goal-line scenarios, where Dart drew two defensive offside penalties with a hard cadence and Winston's cadence drew a false start from his own lineman.

On the roster side, the Post reported the Giants placed defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris on season-ending injured reserve after he tore his Achilles. There had been early hope he could return before the end of the regular season. That's no longer on the table.

Dart is working behind and alongside Winston and Allen in camp. Two interceptions in one padded practice, even against a second-team defense, is the kind of rookie mistake Daboll will keep grading closely as the preseason approaches. The bigger picture emerges once the Giants start playing preseason games and Dart faces starting-caliber defenses instead of scout-team looks.