Jaxson Dart injured, Giants fall to Bears in another fourth-quarter meltdown

CHICAGO — A blustery Sunday at Soldier Field was going as well as it could for the Giants.

And then it all fell apart.

Jaxson Dart, who had been the star of the game, was knocked out with a concussion late in the third quarter. The Giants went on to blow a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 24-20 loss to the Bears.

Dart was hit while running and fumbled late in the third quarter with the Giants leading 17-7. The rookie quarterback’s head slammed the turf as he went down.

Dart had rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns on six carries and was 19-for-29 passing for 242 yards.

He was replaced by Russell Wilson, who led a field-goal drive early in the fourth quarter to make it 20-10.

The Bears (6-3) then scored the final 14 points, with quarterback Caleb Williams accounting for the go-ahead touchdown on a 17-yard scramble and run with 1:47 remaining.

Wilson could not lead them anywhere close to the end zone on their final drive, which ended at the Giants’ 46.

It is the fourth time this season the Giants (2-8), who have lost four in a row, have coughed up a double-digit lead in a defeat.

“Another tough one,” coach Brian Daboll said.

The circumstances surrounding Dart’s concussion were as clear as mud.

After getting his head slammed to the turf, Dart actually returned to the field for the final two plays of the third quarter. But when the fourth quarter began and the Giants still had the ball, Wilson was under center.

“When Russ ran the play, I didn’t notice Dart was out,” offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor said. “I didn’t know what happened to him.”

Daboll, whose job security gets shakier with every loss, inexplicably said he couldn’t pinpoint which play caused Dart’s concussion and said no one noticed until the break between quarters.

“With Dart, as he was going back out on the field [for the start of the fourth], just didn’t seem right,” Daboll said. “So called the trainers over and said, ‘Let’s get him out and make sure he gets looked at.’ He went in and got looked at and ended up being evaluated for a concussion.”

Daboll would not say if Wilson will start next week at home against Green Bay if Dart is unable to play. Because Dart is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, he did not speak with reporters. He was in the locker room after the game as the Giants prepared to leave town.

The Giants were going up against a Bears team that gave up 495 yards of offense to Cincinnati last week and still won, 47-42. Chicago’s offense put up 576 yards in that game.

After the teams traded possessions in which each went for it and failed on fourth-and-short, the Bears took a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard run by Kyle Monangai with 5:40 left in the first quarter. Earlier in the drive, a holding penalty on Cor’Dale Flott wiped out Dexter Lawrence’s first sack of the season.

Dart scored on a designed 3-yard run early in the second quarter to help tie it at 7. It was his fifth straight game with a rushing touchdown, an NFL record for a quarterback.

It could have been called the “Darius Slayton Drive.” The wide receiver made a one-handed catch for 31 yards on the final play of the first quarter and a 38-yard catch on the first play of the second quarter that could have been a touchdown if Dart hadn’t underthrown it slightly.

The Giants took a 10-7 lead on a 32-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half by Younghoe Koo, who was filling in for the injured Graham Gano.

The Giants opened the second half with a six-play, 56-yard drive that ended with Dart’s 24-yard TD run and a 17-7 lead.

The Giants were marching toward another potential score later in the quarter when Dart was smacked on a run, fumbled, hit his head on the turf and was slow to get up. The Bears recovered at their own 16 and eventually turned the turnover into a 22-yard field goal by Cairo Santos that made it 17-10.

Wilson later led a drive that culminated in a 19-yard field goal by Koo to give the Giants a 20-10 lead. Daboll chose the chip shot rather than going for a touchdown on fourth down from the half-yard line.

The Bears pulled to within 20-17 after Williams hit Rome Odunze with a 2-yard scoring pass with 3:56 left in the fourth.

The Giants then went three-and-out, with Wilson getting sacked twice. Jamie Gillan shanked a regrettable 26-yard punt and the Bears took over at their own 47 with just under three minutes left to begin the winning drive.

“Ten-point lead there in the fourth quarter,” Daboll said. “Give them credit. Made a lot of plays. Quarterback made a lot of plays. Lot of loose plays, scramble plays. Just didn’t get the job done.”

What does this latest loss mean for the Giants’ future?

“I’m not looking to the future,” linebacker Brian Burns said. “I’m just focused on trying to get a win, trying to finish out these damn games.”

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.