Jaxson Dart Has 'Overwhelming Confidence' in Giants' Roster After Skattebo's Injury

Despite the loss of Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers to season-ending injuries, Jaxson Dart believes the New York Giants have plenty of talent on offense to be competitive for the second half of the year.

During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Dart expressed "overwhelming confidence" in his teammates to keep the offense going without their top two playmakers when asked if he needs to deliver a message to rally them:

"I don't think they need to hear much from me. I mean, I have overwhelming confidence in all the guys that step on the field with me. I never have any doubt when I'm on the field, so, they all know that. It's just kind of our conversations during practice and whatnot. So, I don't think that that's really a thing that really is concerned internally with us. But, yeah, there's just been a lot of different plug-and-play situations, obviously. We've been a little banged up at some skill position spots with Malik and then (wide receiver Darius) Slayton missing time and whatnot, and obviously with Skatt. But we're just trying to work, guys are going to be able to step up and that's just part of the NFL. Every team is going to have injuries and whatnot, and you've got to be able to weather the storms of those. We've got a lot of good guys in the building."

Skattebo's injury in the Giants' 38-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday was devastating because he helped to energize the offense, particularly after taking over as a starter in Week 4.

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The rookie running back was averaging 74.0 rushing yards and 25.5 receiving yards per game in his first four starts. He also scored four total touchdowns during that span and has a team-high seven overall this season.

Nabers didn't get a lot of time working with Dart in games because the rookie quarterback was playing behind Russell Wilson for the first three weeks. The star receiver tore his ACL and meniscus in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.

The loss of Skattebo, in particular, will alter the way head coach Brian Daboll runs the offense. He had 125 touches in eight games, 70 more than anyone else on the roster.

Wan'Dale Robinson is the only player other than Skattebo with at least 300 yards from scrimmage (496). The 24-year-old has shown a lot of promise as the go-to receiving option since Nabers with 84 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles and 95 yards against the Denver Broncos in back-to-back games.

Dart has shown a lot of poise early in his career to suggest he won't be overwhelmed by the moment, even without some key players available. The first-year quarterback has 984 yards passing, 195 yards rushing, while accounting for 12 touchdowns (eight passing, four rushing) since making his first start in Week 4.

The Giants will likely rely heavily on Dart's versatile skill set in Week 9 when they host a San Francisco 49ers team that has been hobbled by injuries of their own.

New York has lost two straight games after a 2-1 stretch in Dart's first three starts that included a victory over the Eagles in Week 6.