The Detroit Lions will attempt to rebound from Week 11's Sunday Night Football disaster with two key games in a span of four days. First up, the New York Giants, who will be without their star rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Dart missed last week's Giants loss to the Green Bay Packers after leaving the previous week's game against the Chicago Bears with a concussion. At the time of his injury, the Giants led the Bears before the Russell Wilson-led offense stagnated, allowing the Bears to complete their comeback victory.
For Dart, this was the second notable injury following an ankle injury that had hampered him weeks earlier, raising concerns about the recklessness of both him and his then-head coach, Brian Daboll, who was fired after the loss against the Bears. With Dart now ruled out for Sunday, interim head coach Mike Kafka will have to toe a delicate line between the health of his young QB and his playstyle going forward.
Speaking with the New York media on Monday, Kafka addressed that necessary balance:
"He's an aggressive player, and that's what we love about him. But obviously, you want to show him some examples he can learn from. I think he's going through that now. I think he'll continue to grow from those things. But at the end of the day, he is a competitor, and that's why we love this guy. And I think he'll continue to learn and grow, but you don't want to put a player like that in a box. Obviously, you want to give him, show him, the examples he can improve on, and I think he'll take that to the bank."
Dart has been one of the most exciting rookies of the 2025 season, throwing for 10 touchdown passes to three interceptions since seizing the starting job in Week 3. On the ground, Dart has attempted 57 rushes for 317 yards, seven TDs, and 26 first downs. The Giants are 2-5 in his starts, including something the Lions couldn't do -- a dominant 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. However, just like the Lions, Dart and the Giants would lose to the Eagles 38-20 just a few weeks later.
With Dart out, backup Jameis Winston will get the start. In Week 11, Winston completed 19 passes on 29 attempts for 201 yards against the Packers. Winston threw an untimely INT and scored his only TD on the ground in the 27-20 loss. Winston is notoriously turnover-prone, which creates a big opportunity for the Lions' defense that has only intercepted one pass since the bye week.
Lions run defense would've had their hands full with Dart
Had Dart started, stalling him on the ground would not have been an easy task, but so far this season, the Lions have done well to keep QBs in check. This season, QBs have averaged 19.9 yards rushing. The high watermark for QBs against Kelvin Sheppard's defense is 35 rushing yards by Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson.
In his first start, Dart rushed for 54 yards, and since then, he has only fallen below that total twice. Dart rushed for a career-high 66 yards in the loss against the Bears, also adding a career-high two rushing TDs. Dart has also rushed for a TD in all but one of his games. Winston, on the other hand, rushed for just ten yards in his season debut, but did score a rushing TD. Winston has not rushed for 30 or more rushing yards since Halloween 2021, which was also the last time he hit 40 yards. Winston hasn't hit 50 yards since October 2019.
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The Lions' defense may have been up for the challenge had Dart started. They've handled QB runs well, which was underscored by their impressive four "tush push" stops in the Eagles' five attempts. Winston getting the start should give them a little extra breathing room, but they shouldn't take it lightly. Winston is still unpredictable. Sheppard will need to have his defense on their toes and be ready for anything, because Kafka and Winston may throw out everything in order to win.