John Harbaugh, Giants’ defense applaud Jaxson Dart for sliding during 'critical situation' practice drill

Posted by Admin August 10, 2026 NFL

One of the Giants‘ biggest priorities this season is keeping second-year QB Jaxson Dart on the field.

Dart, of course, quickly became a fan favorite because of his all-out gritty playing style during his rookie season, but that often led to him leaving himself exposed to big hits and injury.

The youngster missed two games after leaving in Week 10 with a concussion.

Dart didn’t make a big deal of it at the time, but in the closing weeks of the season and throughout this offseason the club has put an emphasis on getting him to protect himself more.

It may still just be training camp, but it appears the practice could be paying off.

During late-game situation drill in Monday’s practice session, Dart took off on a scramble around the edge, and upon picking up a first down he slid feet-first rather than taking contact from a defender.

According to ESPN’s Jason McCourty, the slide came right in front of Big Blue’s defensive sideline, and it drew a loud eruption and high-fives from that side of the ball.

“We’ve been begging him to do that for a while,” Brian Burns explained. “I’m glad that he’s starting to practice it.”

Head coach John Harbaugh shared those sentiments, applauding for Dart at the podium, as well.

“It was great,” he said. “A critical situation drill — we were trying to get a third or fourth down, like anywhere from three to five in a drive where the offense can win the game in the fourth with a conversion — that’s what that was.

“We had a great play, he came open, ran around the corner, got the first down, slid inbounds, and was able to keep the clock running — all of those things were very well done.”