Jaxson Dart vs. Jayden Daniels: Renewing rivalry will have to wait

Sunday could have been the first of what is hoped to be numerous NFL duels between quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Jayden Daniels. Instead, it’s been delayed until 2026.

Dart will make his first home start for the Giants since Nov. 2. The Commanders, however, will start Marcus Mariota after Daniels was ruled out with an left elbow injury.

Dart and Daniels represent bright futures for their teams. Daniels was Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. Dart has positioned himself to be a candidate this season. They also have a relationship off the field that began as high school prospects and continues now; they share the same quarterback coach.

“It's been fun to kind of have our journeys cross paths along the way. Us playing in the Pac-12 together back then and then carrying over to the SEC," Dart said this past week, referencing his time at USC and Daniels' time at Arizona State. "Then, obviously, just in the offseason spending a lot of time training and just kicking it off the field as well.’'

The two faced off in 2023 when Dart was at Ole Miss and Daniels at LSU. It was a high-scoring affair in which both threw for four touchdowns and also ran for a score.

Ole Miss won, 55-49, with Dart throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass with 39 seconds left. Dart finished with 389 passing yards and 50 rushing yards. Daniels had 414 passing yards and  99 rushing yards.

Malik Nabers caught eight passes from Daniels for 102 yards in that game. Nabers, of course, now shares a locker room with Dart, but he’ll also be sidelined Sunday as he continues his recovery from ACL surgery.

“That was a really fun game for us, Ole Miss,” Dart said. “That's one that me and Malik talked about a lot, too. They got us in 2022, so we've been able to go back and forth and have some fun games.”

LSU won that game, 45-20, with Daniels throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for three. Dart threw for 283 yards but also had an interception. es.

The next chapter of the battle will have to wait. Dart watched from the sideline when Daniels led the Commanders over the Giants in the season opener. Now Daniels will do the same as Dart faces the Commanders for the first time.

Dart isn't worried about looking too far ahead. With both positioned as the future leaders of their teams, if all goes well, he and Daniels will have plenty of time to face off.

“We're going to be playing against each other a lot these next couple years,” Dart said. “So it's just fun to have that competition.''

Koo moves on from botched field goal

Younghoe Koo remains the Giants’ kicker and wasn’t fazed by the bizarre sequence during his lone field-goal attempt against the Patriots.

After the ball was snapped, Koo didn’t complete his follow-through, kicking the turf instead. Holder Jamie Gillan picked up the ball to run with it and it was registered as a sack.

“My brain registered that ball being sideways because it started to go and then it stopped out of nowhere, so I didn’t know where to put my foot at,” Koo told Newsday. “So in my head, I’m like, 'Oh, that’s gonna be sideways,' so I stopped.”

Koo said the bottom of the ball wobbled briefly, which threw off his approach.

The play summed up the Giants’ struggles during this seven-game losing streak.

Interim coach Mike Kafka said  Gillan injured a knee on the play and  didn’t practice all week.

Kafka said the team still has faith in Koo and there was no hesitation about keeping him as the kicker. . Because the play didn’t count as a miss, Koo remains 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts for the Giants.

Koo also didn’t dwell on the play.  He treated it like any other kick attempt: Move on to the next one and stay ready.

“Whether you make kicks or whether you miss kicks," Koo said, "you try to get to a neutral place and get back to work.”

Gipson learning lessons

Xavier Gipson was re-signed to the Giants’ practice squad this past week for a second time. It’s the latest step in a winding road for Gipson this season.

Gipson was cut by the Jets on Sept. 10 after fumbling a kick return in the fourth quarter of their season-opening loss to the Steelers. Since then, he was signed and waived by the Giants and Eagles.

“It’s been, by far, the most lessons I’ve learned this year,” he told Newsday. “Being cut three times, it kind of humbles you. You can’t look at nobody but yourself in the mirror.”

With coach Aaron Glenn setting a tone about accountability, he understood why the Jets made their decision.  Things didn’t change with the Eagles, with Gipson fumbling in each of his final two games.

In three seasons, he’s fumbled 12 times and lost five of them.

With Gunner Olszewski in the concussion protocol, Gipson was added as insurance in the return game, but he knows that to earn job security, he has to improve his ball security.

“When you’re holding the ball, you’re holding the franchise with others,” Gipson said. “That’s how they’re feeding their family. I’m not only hurting myself but I’m hurting other people by making mistakes.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.