Jaxson Dart Engineered Giants Bounce Back in Week 17 Win: Player-by-Player Review

If there’s one thing we can take away from the New York Giants' performance on offense, it’s that the idea that quarterback Jaxson Dart regressed was hogwash.

People seem to forget that Dart is still a rookie, cutting his teeth, and someone the Giants hope to have around for a long time.

So that conservative game plan that interim head coach Mike Kafka ran the week prior? We believe that was done to protect “the franchise” from itself in what’s a meaningless game.

Dart, to his credit, has gotten better at being reckless. The next step in his development, where we hope he takes a big leap, is as a pocket passer, something he’ll have to get used to doing if he wants to be here for a long time.

On the whole, though, Dart has been a bright spot in a dismal season. Now just imagine what he might be able to do–and how much better they can further balance his designed runs–once they get Malik Nabers back and add another receiver to the mix.

Onto the player reviews.

Quarterback

Jaxson Dart

After the coaches suffocated Dart last week with an impossible (scared) game plan, they loosened up and gave him a chance to breathe again.

What they got was the return of the dual-threat young quarterback who earlier in the year had carried a talent-free offense to a level of competitiveness they had no right achieving.

Dart was the creator and leader of that offense, and today he was that player once again. Yes, it came against a tanking Raiders team and a defense that was backup-level across the board, but Dart wasn’t taking names; he was playing the style that comes naturally to him.

The throwing numbers were good – 22-of-30 for 207 yards – and the two rushing touchdowns more than made up for the lack of passing touchdowns.

One touchdown run was smartly designed: a 12-yarder, Dart lowering his head at the goal line and powering into the end zone.

The other run came on a quasi-naked bootleg, Dart finding no one to throw it to, so he out-ran the pursuit to the pylon for the score.

Running the ball is a big part of what Dart does. And he’s very good at it. He went 9-48 (5.3 avg.) on the ground with a long of 17. Half of them were scrambles, meaning the other half were not.

Designed runs need to stay in the game plan because they force the defense to prepare for and defend them, and give the offense a weapon most offenses do not have. He did not take any big hits, and he was very smart with the ball.

An underrated part of Dart’s game is how well he takes care of the ball. There wasn’t a single careless throw out there. He was accurate from the pocket, and he saw the field well.

One of the two sacks he absorbed was the result of his trying to be aggressive and slipping to the turf. He took a couple of big hits along the way but got up off the ground each time with a bounce in his step.

He played aggressively, under control, he spread the ball around, and he got Wan’Dale Robinson his 1,000-yard season.

Dart has that “Superman” gene, but he doesn’t have to be Superman. He’s got to spread the wealth.

This year, there were too few bullets in his holster. Let’s see the front office find him some weapons and let the young quarterback grow with them and make them better. That’s the hope for the future that this young quarterback provides.

Running Backs

Tyrone Tracy

Having settled into a 14-touch-or-so rhythm every week, Tracy wriggled and squirmed his way through the Raiders' busy defense to finish with solid 14 for 62 (4.4 avg.) numbers on the ground. He also caught one ball for zero yards.

Tracy’s biggest play came on the second half’s first possession, taking a wide toss and exploiting some excellent edge blocking for 23 yards.

Tracy also bounced off several tacklers before getting tackled. It was another solid complementary performance by the back, who lack the tools to be a bell-cow.

Tracy’s blocking remains a problem. On a help block around rookie Marcus Mbow’s edge, Mbow stumbled into Mbow, which messed up the rookie’s backpedal, leading to one of the two sacks.

Tracy continues to lack the pop to hold up to power blitzers.

Devin Singletary

The veteran’s 8-45 (5.6 avg.) numbers on the ground were greatly aided by his 29-yard first-quarter burst around the left end down to the 1-yard line. Singletary scored from the 1-yard line on the next snap.

Since Cam Skattebo was lost for the season, Singletary has become this team’s short-yardage back, and despite the lack of size, he’s good at it.

Singletary also caught four balls for an additional 25 yards, while his pass-blocking was stellar.

Elijah Chatman

Getting another practice squad call-up, and another chance to lead a back into a short yardage hole, Chatman, in the role of fullback, was sent on an angle block to the edge and failed to lead his back up into the hole.

Instead, Chatman knocked his pulling guard off of his block, but the back still managed to score despite the pile-up that Chatman’s “block” created.

Receivers

Wan’Dale Robinson

One of the few feel-good parts of this team’s awful 2025 season has been the performance of the diminutive Robinson from Week 1 right through the accomplishment of his first-ever 1,000-yard season.

This week’s season-high 11 catches give him 92 on the year (he’s top 10 in the league in that category). This week’s 113 receiving yards give him 1,014 on the year with one more game to play.

His lone quasi-drop came on a leaping catch, which was jarred loose when he hit the ground; tough to give him a drop on this one. Otherwise, he caught 11 of 14 targets, with a long of 36 yards.

The big leap in Robinson’s game came when he was allowed to expand on his intermediate route tree, which had been so underutilized in his first three NFL seasons.

His longest catch went for 36 yards when he simply read the defense and found a hole in the zone.

His lack of size really limits his effectiveness in the red zone, as he is so hard to find among all the bigger bodies. He needs space to work with.

Darius Slayton

Both of Slayton’s catches today were of the “gather in” variety. This veteran wideout still cannot catch with his hands away from his body. The team should be grateful that Slayton’s two-catch day did not include any killer drops.

His 36 receiving yards kept the defense a bit honest, as they ignored Slayton on both of his catches.

This is when he’s at his best, as a forgotten option, when he’s not expected to come up big. This week was his ideal game.

Isaiah Hodgins

Hodgins did some of the heavy lifting with tight end Theo Johnson (illness) unavailable, blocking a lot and seeing the ball a little.

Hodgins caught one of his two targets and broke a tackle on the catch, turning a 1-yard catch into an 8-yarder. His blocking was decent-to-good.

Gunner Olszewski

Getting a smattering of snaps, mostly as a slot option, Olszewski caught his only target on a short crosser, which he maneuvered deftly through the Raiders zone.

What we like about Olszewski’s game is the complete lack of hesitation; he caught his short ball and immediately turned upfield, attacking the right crease and finishing off this play for 19 yards.

Whenever given the chance, this player always does something positive, showing natural football instincts that make you wish he had an NFL body, not the smallish one he has.

Still, we think he needs to be incorporated into the offense regularly to be used in a variety of ways. All he does is make smart football plays out there.

Tight Ends

Daniel Bellinger

Never leaving the field (with Johnson left at home with an illness), Bellinger was a solid and reliable resource no matter where he lined up.

He caught 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards, dropping a more downfield throw in the middle when a heavy hit by a closing safety jarred the ball loose.

This was a legit drop and the type of catch that big tight ends need to make in the middle of the field.

Bellinger’s blocking was one of the highlights of this week’s offense. He won a lot more than he lost out there.

Chris Manhertz

Getting fewer snaps than we imagined with Johnson out, Manhertz was still a plus blocker.

On the early big Singletary run, Manhertz had one of the key edge blocks. He was also physical on all of the short yardage snaps that the offense ran out there to run out the clock.

Zach Davidson

Getting a handful of third tight end snaps as one of this week’s promotions from the practice squad, Davidson had very little impact on the game.

Offensive Line

Marcus Mbow

The big news out of this week’s game was this intriguing rookie who has taken over for Andrew Thomas, who was moved to IR after last week’s hamstring injury. These last two games are Mbow’s chance to show the coaches what he can do.

One thing that became very obvious from the first snap was that this kid was put on roller skates for nearly every one of his pass blocks. It was not a pretty sight to watch.

The need to re-imagine his entire body, both lower and upper, needs to happen this offseason, and we’re not talking about adding a few pounds of muscle. His body is sloppy-looking and needs to be completely redone, as does his strength, for that matter.

Other than that small issue, Mbow has got a lot going for him. He’s smart, he’s alert, he stays calm – it wasn’t him, but the veteran tackle on the other side who committed two false starts.

Mbow also has a very athletic lower body. On the offense’s two big runs to his side, Mbow got out on the pull to the edge and wiped out two defenders on each play.

His movement skills in open space are natural and top shelf. Besides the need for power, his technique also needs work, but he still kept himself between his man and his quarterback all game long.

We like his balance in his backpedal. His arms don’t seem very long, so he’ll need to compensate with technique.

Wherever Mbow ends up along this O-line – we think he’s a tackle – he’s going to need to add a ton of power to his game.

Until he does, he’s not an NFL-quality starter, but he’s certainly an NFL-quality swing tackle, and that has value.

Jermaine Eluemunor

The veteran’s two false starts came on passing plays on the offense’s first possession, essentially blowing up that drive. He bounced back by playing a sharp edge game that closed down his side throughout.

The run game continues to present a problem with this player. The dancing feet that he displays in his backpedal are nothing like him trying to maneuver in the pit.

His big body cannot be overpowered, but if it’s not right in front of him, he has shown very little chance of reaching it.

Jon Runyan

Returning after his one-game absence for the birth of his child, looked fresh and sharp.

There were a small handful of misses in his game, but he recovered on several pass blocks he lost at the point of attack.

His run-blocking had its moments, notably a short pull on the Singletary 1-yard touchdown run. Too bad that the blocking fullback ran up his legs and nearly blew it.

Greg Van Roten

Playing a solid, quiet game from start to finish, Van Roten bounced back from last week’s choppy effort to grade out at the top of the O-line bunch.

There were a handful of run-game misses between the tackles, but the veteran also pitched a very sharp pass-blocking game while getting enough good initial licks in the run game to contribute.

Austin Schlottmann

Stepping in for John Michael Schmitz, who was placed on IR, Schlottmann played a solid game over the ball with very few glitches.

He was turning people; his double-team run-blocking was sharp, showing great timing on the hand-off to pick up the second-level linebacker.

His pass-blocking was heavy-handed, but he showed good decision-making. The Raiders didn’t challenge Schlottmann much, so his help-blocking was a big part of his positive performance.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? Send it here.