“Their Season Is NOT Over” - Rich Reacts to Giants QB Jaxson Dart’s Scary Knee Injury

For one opening drive, the New York Giants looked like the team their fans had been afraid to believe in. Then Jaxson Dart went down, and Monday night at SoFi Stadium turned into what Rich called "a disaster of a Monday night for the Giants."

Rich had been having fun with the show's diehard Giants caller Alan the day before, telling him to manifest it. And early on, Dart looked like the quarterback from Week 1: "a highly improved quarterback from year one," with the ability to escape, make throws, and run. Better yet, Rich said, it felt controlled. It "didn't feel like oh my god he's going to put himself in the blue tent. It really felt like an absolute real deal repeatable exciting way to quarterback an offense."

Then, "typical of a New York sports team on a Monday Night Football, the quarterback doesn't last long." Byron Young hit Dart on his right side, Josaiah Stewart came around the end, and Dart's left leg flopped around, as Rich put it, "like one of those balloons outside of a car dealership."

Dart went to the blue tent, limped to the locker room, and rode a cart to the X-ray room. Then came the part Rich loved: the Giants reportedly had to hide Dart's uniform because he wanted to go back in. He was back on the sideline later in street clothes, which Rich took as a good sign. "If it was something really significant he wouldn't be standing there," he said. "One would think."

The injuries kept piling up. Malik Nabers grabbed his shoulder after what looked like a benign moment with Trent McDuffie. Brian Burns limped off with an ankle issue. "If you had to choose one on each side of the ball that you don't want to lose," Rich said, "it would be Dart on offense and Burns on defense."

Giants head coach John Harbaugh was hanging his hat on the news that it is not a season ender. Asked about a report of a sprained MCL, Harbaugh said, "That's in the neighborhood of it," adding that an MRI would bring a clearer picture. He called avoiding the devastating outcome "really good news."

So it is Jameis Winston time, and Rich wasn't impressed with the first look. He "just did not look ready for prime time." One of the crew who was in the building added that the Trent McDuffie interception was "a horrendous throw" and that Winston was "short hopping dudes," though he acknowledged Winston wasn't expecting to play.

Rich then mapped out the road ahead, penciling Dart in for four to six weeks. Next up is Brian Daboll bringing Tennessee to town, "the man that John Harbaugh is replacing." Then Arizona at home, at Washington for what Rich expects to be Winston versus Marcus Mariota, "one versus two from that draft class, which is nuts," and a Saints team that could be in first place by then. Week 5 brings Will Anderson to town, and Week 6 is a bye.

That is where Rich found the hope. If the Giants can win three of the next five with Winston, go 4-3 into the bye, and get Dart back for a trip to Philadelphia, Rich pictured "Tango and Cash" reunited in the building where Cam Skattebo got hurt last year.

"Season's not over," Rich said, "not to go full Jim Mora Senior here. It isn't, but that sucked."

He knows how Giants fans are wired right now. When he told friends the team looked real, they all said pump the brakes. "They're all looking for the trap door," Rich said, with "the PTSD of all these years since Coughlin left."

And yes, there is still Winston. "As we all know," Rich said, he "is highly entertaining for us to talk about and then on occasion can come in a game and wind up with 350, 400 yards."