During a Week 13 showdown against the New England Patriots, New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart took a bone-crunching hit along the sideline that sparked a scuffle between both teams.
After missing the two previous games with a concussion, Dart made it clear he wouldn’t be changing his playing style to limit potential injuries moving forward.
“No, look, I understand the question, but this is football,” Dart said. “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. We’re not playing soccer out here. You’re going to get hit. Things happen. It’s just part of the game.”
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The hit in question came from Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, who also had a questionable hit on Giants returner Gunner Olszewski, who sustained a concussion during the contest. Dart raced down the sideline and likely could have stepped out of bounds a few yards earlier in order to avoid the hit.
In the end, though, the rookie quarterback attempted to pick up extra yardage and paid the price before a fight broke out.
No penalty was called on the play.
Just a few days later, the NFL made the ultimate decision not to punish Elliss for his actions on the field. When the league announced its fines on Saturday afternoon, three players from the game received a fine, but Elliss was not among them.
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