Defiant Jaxson Dart defends aggression after return from concussion

In a bruising 33-15 defeat to the New England Patriots on Monday night, New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart returned from a two-game concussion absence with the same fire that's defined his career -- landing him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Scrambling on a second-and-13 in the first quarter, Dart was leveled by Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss and sent soaring through the air and crashing onto the Giants' sideline -- a legal hit that ignited a sideline scuffle.

Tight end Theo Johnson drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty while charging to Dart's defense, joined by the offensive line.

Dart, who cleared protocol just days earlier after a fluke fumble-induced knockout against Chicago -- his fourth such evaluation this season -- shook it off and finished 17-of-24 for 139 yards, one touchdown, and four rushes for 20 yards.

But postgame, the 22-year-old doubled down on his aggressive ethos amid team pleas to temper his legs.

"This is football. Like, I'm going to get hit if I'm in the pocket or outside the pocket. I feel like I played this way my whole entire life. It shouldn't be any shocker to anybody if you followed along with my career," Dart said. "We're not playing soccer out here. You're going to get hit. Things happen. It's just part of the game.

"I played like this my whole life. Turn on my high school tape, turn on my college tape; it's not a shocker to anybody. It's how I've played. I felt like if you just watch the game, like, I did slide. I did avoid a lot of hits, so you're going to get hit. It's football."

Teammates like offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. admire the grit but urged caution.

"I told him earlier [Monday], be smart, protect ourselves. Obviously, he's not going to listen because he's just so competitive, loves the contact," Runyan said, via ESPN. "That's just how he is. We're just going to have to keep talking to him. Maybe he'll listen to us one of these days."

Interim coach Mike Kafka echoed the concern but praised Dart's bounce-back.

"Jaxson's an aggressive football player. He's on the sideline, trying to get himself out of bounds. Talks a hit. He bounced up. He's a tough kid," Kafka said. "Obviously, don't want him to take any hits that are unnecessary, but he was working his way out of bounds.

"Jaxson did a nice job, slid a couple times for us, and did everything we asked him to do."

With the Giants mired in a seven-game skid at 2-11, Dart vowed no retreat.

"My body feels good. I'm going to play aggressive," he said. "I feel like if I just turn into a complete pocket passer, that's just not how I want to play the game. I feel like there's an advantage to me using my legs."

As New York's savior-in-waiting, Dart's defiance could fuel a turnaround -- or force another sidelining timeout.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Defiant Jaxson Dart defends aggression after return from concussion