Somehow, New York Giants WR Malik Nabers made it onto the field. And Cam Skattebo battled through the blood. But everybody was talking about Jaxson Dart. Is it a Week 1 overreaction to say he is the chosen one to lead the Giants back to glory?

The Giants handled the Cowboys 28-20 in the 2026 season opener. Dart turned in a magnificent performance, hitting on 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards with three touchdown tosses. Also, he rushed 11 times for 54 yards. The Cowboys couldn’t find an answer.

Giants QB Jaxson Dart authors impressive start to season

Dart’s performance caught the eyes of everybody, including new head coach John Harbaugh, according to The Athletic.

“For him to have all this on his plate and to execute the way he did, to me, was just tremendous and very impressive,” Harbaugh said. “It was a great performance by Jaxson.”

Dart had a decent rookie season, despite the Giants posting a mark of 4-8 with him as a starter. He completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. As a runner, Dart racked up 487 yards with nine touchdowns.

So it’s easy to see why Giants fans are excited about the way he played against the Cowboys. Certainly, Dan Orlovsky is on the bandwagon, according to the Pat McAfee Show.

“The fastest he has played with his eyes since he came into the NFL,” Orlovsky said. “I think the recognition was a big deal. I was really impressed with the way Jaxson played.

“The matchups that allowed him to kind of think clearly and think quickly, I think, were the really big difference makers.”

But let’s be realistic about what Dart saw in the Sunday Night Football game. The Cowboys didn’t generate a ton of pressure on him with their pass rush. And the defense had three straight blown coverages in the sequence that allowed the Giants to take a 14-7 halftime lead.

If the Cowboys play tighter there, then Dart probably doesn’t gain as much confidence. But he did, and carried it over into the second half.

Also, his swing passes that led to another touchdown were simply pitch and catch to a guy out of the backfield.

Truth be told, Dart wasn’t throwing seeds into tight windows. It seemed like most times the receivers were wide open. There was a high margin for error in accuracy.

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Hold your horses on putting Jaxson Dart in All-Pro territory

Let’s see how he performs against teams with tighter coverage. And against units that aren’t making so many mistakes.

That likely begins in Week 2. Yes, the Rams won’t have Myles Garrett. That will take some heat off of Dart. However, they do have excellent cornerbacks in Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie. Dart should have much tighter windows in the passing game in Week 2.

Plus, the Rams will come in smoking mad. They pretty much embarrassed themselves in the horrific Week 1 loss to the 49ers down under.

The good news for Dart is that his teammates believe in him, according to The Athletic.

“The entire team feeds off (Dart’s) energy,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “You saw what happened when he got hit on the sideline. It was a bulls–t hit. That’s why everyone ran up and defended him. He’s the heartbeat of this team. He’s a leader. We’ll go as far as he takes us.

“He’s a killer. He really wants to win. He’s locked in on everything. There’s a lot on his plate, but that’s how he likes it.”

And Dart isn’t shying away from the responsibility of leading an NFL team.

“I wanted to take it upon myself to do as much as I can,” Dart said. “Even though it was maybe tough. But I felt like it was the best thing for our team to be successful. So I love that part of the game. And I think that that’s just going to continue to make me a better player.”

Looking at the Giants’ schedule, it may be Weeks 7-15 that tell the story for Dart. In that stretch, they played the tough defenses of the Texans, Eagles, Jaguars, 49ers, and Seahawks. Before the Giants can claim Dart is the full answer as their long-term quarterback, he needs to show what he can do this season against that caliber of opponent.