Mike Kafka Praises Giants QB Jaxson Dart's Adaptability Amidst Challenges

Standard televised and streamed fare this time of year often centers on main characters disappearing one by one until only one is left standing. For the New York Giants, such scripts are a grim reality.

In East Rutherford, everyone can hear you scream, and the Giants have done plenty over the past few weeks: with the team finally generating a little offensive momentum, young building blocks Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo have been taken out by injuries that have ended their respective seasons.

The de facto final guy is newly-minted franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart, perhaps the last glimmer of potential in another woebegone season.

For what it's worth to Giants observers, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka reported during prep for Sunday's visit from the San Francisco 49ers (1 p.m. ET, CBS) that Dart has adjusted well to the unscheduled changes.

Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) looks on after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"The one thing I'm really proud of is how our guys have handled it ... Jaxson's done a great job of kind of getting everyone on the same page," lauded Kafka.

"Whether he's meeting with them extra or talking to them on the sideline, just those open lines have been great in getting everyone on the same page."

Despite the Giants (2-6) falling out of the playoff picture by Halloween, Dart's early prowess has at least somewhat convinced the fanbase that there's a plan to make things right.

Many envision a future where Dart, Nabers, and Skattebo lead the New York offensive battery, and this relatively consequence-free season seemed to serve as a sneak preview of that future.

Alas for New York, the trio collaborated for only a few fleeting shared snaps before Nabers was lost to a torn ACL during Dart's late September debut against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dart and Skattebo have captured the imaginations of the metropolitan area over the last four weeks, which included a downright dreamy nationally streamed victory over the hated Philadelphia Eagles.

But now Skattebo will watch what's left with the rest of Dart's adoring public after enduring a devastating ankle injury in a futile rematch with the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Dart received a bittersweet accolade as the 49ers' visit loomed, being named the league's Rookie of the Month for October. The freshman flinger becomes the first Giant to obtain the honor since Odell Beckham Jr. did so twice during the 2014-15 campaign.

As acknowledged by Kafka, however, the tests only get more daunting as Dart prepares for life without Skattebo: four of the Giants' next five opponents (San Francisco, Green Bay, Detroit, New England) before their unusually late bye are currently stationed on their respective conference's playoff bracket, and the lone exception (Chicago) is a half-game out.

The first challenge comes against a Bay Area group led by a resurrected Robert Saleh, who has found redemption as San Francisco's defensive coordinator after his brutal tenure at the helm of the Giants' green MetLife Stadium roommates.

"I have a lot of respect for Coach Saleh and the detail, the way he approaches the game, how he coaches it," Kafka said.

"They've had to deal with some injuries over the course of the last few weeks, but he's got these same guys, new guys coming in, or veteran guys stepping in, he's got these guys playing fast, aggressive.

“You see it–it's all over the tape, so it's a good challenge for us. It'll be a great challenge for us and our offense to make sure we know where these guys are at and then go and execute."

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