Jaxson Dart remains ‘sick’ about Giants losing — even if it’s rookie QB norm

There are certainties in life and some of them having to do with rookie quarterbacks in the NFL often include not having success.

There is no hard-and-fast rule with this but there is plenty of empirical data to state players at that position in their first year in the league will lose more than they win.

This was presented to Jaxson Dart on Wednesday after practice, with the names of two Hall of Fame players — Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning — given to him as examples of extraordinary quarterbacks who were spectacular losers on the field in their debut NFL seasons.

Is this something that Dart has to rectify in his own mind? Sometimes, the first year is the worst year.

“I don’t really think of it that way,’’ Dart said. “I don’t really want to give myself any sort of excuse to think like that. I want to go into the games with the right mindset and put our team in the best situations to win. It’s definitely tough for sure, to say the least but it’s just extra motivating every single day.’’

It will be chilly and it could be rainy in Chicago as Dart on Sunday against the Bears tries again to win his first NFL road game. He is 0-3, with losses in New Orleans, Denver and Philadelphia. He is 2-4 in his six starts and, given the injury losses on offense and the continuing ineptitude of the defense, Dart’s first-year won-loss record could be unsightly.

If that is the case, he will have plenty of company in that regard.

There was a time when rookies had to wait to get their turn and those who did not usually took their lumps.

Aikman went 0-11 with the Cowboys in 1989. Peyton Manning went 3-13 with the Colts in 1998. Eli Manning went 1-6 with the Giants in 2004. Archie Manning went 3-5-2 with the Saints in 1972. Those Mannings did not exactly light anything up right away, did they?

Terry Bradshaw went 3-5 with the Steelers in 1970. John Elway went 4-6 with the Broncos in 1983. Matthew Stafford went 2-8 with the Lions in 2009. Dan Fouts went 0-5-1 with the Chargers in 1973. Jared Goff went 0-7 with the Rams in 2016. Phil Simms did go 6-5 with the Giants in 1979 but fell to 3-10 in 1980.

There are enough exceptions to avoid an ironclad “rookies must lose’’ narrative. Ben Roethlisberger went a ridiculous 13-0 for the Steelers in 2004. Dak Prescott went 13-3 for the Cowboys in 2016.

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Andrew Luck (2012), Russell Wilson (2012), Joe Flacco (2008) and Matt Ryan (2008) all won 11 regular season games as rookies. Heck, Mac Jones (2021) and Kyle Orton (2005) won 10 games apiece as rookies. More recently, Jayden Daniels won 12 games and Bo Nix won 10 games as rookies last season.

So, it can be done. But usually, rookie quarterbacks take a licking before they truly start clicking.

“It really hurts me to see him, such a young player in this league, take these losses to heart so hard because he is the quarterback of this team, and he feels like it is his fault, but he’s got people around him to support him,’’ veteran guard Jon Runyan said. “He’s got a team around him, and we do everything we can to help lift him up because he likes to think that this is all his fault, and we try to reassure him that it’s not. We’re all in this together, but he’s a leader, and he believes that, and he does not like to lose. He’s not used to losing. He has said that, so for him going through this losing stretch, it’s not normal for him. He doesn’t like it. He’s sick about it and we do everything we can to keep supporting him and keep him on this track because I feel like he’s got a bright future.’’

Dart seems unconcerned about the future, as in the here and now he is determined to not accept that this will be a learning, losing NFL indoctrination.

“It’s tough,’’ he said. “You put a lot of work in and you’re not getting the results in the win-loss category. You just have to keep steadfast in your process. I have confidence in everybody around me. I feel like we can definitely go on a run. We just have to take it one step at a time and find a way to get one win.’’