Here we go again?

Second-year New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart briefly exited Saturday’s 13-10 preseason loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter to be examined for a concussion.

Fortunately for the young QB and his team, Dart was quickly cleared after taking a huge hit on a sack by Vikings safety Jay Ward, returning three plays later and immediately connecting on a 15-yard touchdown pass with rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields.

Smoked ’em @JWARD_4

📺: #NYGvsMIN @FOX9 pic.twitter.com/tMecUP4kUt

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 15, 2026

Dart later told Giants coach John Harbaugh that he only had the wind knocked out of him. Harbaugh said he had no reservations about putting Dart back into the game.

Dart finished Saturday’s game having played 14 snaps, going 3-of-4 passing for 26 yards and a touchdown with two sacks.

When asked during the game about his visit to the medical tent by the local TV broadcast, Dart sort of shook his head and smirked before saying, “I’m not going to talk too much about the tent.”

Harbaugh also wasn’t concerned about his QB’s health when asked after the game about the feelings he had after seeing Dart go into the tent.

“My feelings in that moment was, we need to block better,” said Harbaugh, who later added that he was a little surprised Dart was sent to the tent. “Their job is to err on the side of player safety, so I can’t argue with that, either.”

Concussions checks have been an all-too-frequent occurrence for Dart during his short NFL career. Including the preseason last year, Dart was examined for a concussion on five separate occasions. He was a diagnosed just once, during the Giants’ Week 10 loss to the Bears, and he missed the following two games.

Dart was often defiant last season when discussing how often he’d been checked for concussions and his aggressive style of play. Dart would regularly say that he’s not going to shy away from contact and would continue to play football on his terms.

“I’m going to keep playing aggressive,” Dart said last December. “Hopefully, everybody can take a second to watch my tape going back to high school and realize that this is not a shock. … I appreciate people wanting me to be healthy and all that stuff, and I want to be healthy too, but I play this game aggressively. So, I’m not just going to change how I play the game.”

In the offseason, however, Dart seemed to soften his stance a little bit telling fans at the team’s annual Town Hall, “The most important thing that I learned is I got to be on the field. … But at the same time if it’s third down, fourth down, they’re standing my way, I’m gonna go right through them.”

During a recent practice, Giants defenders applauded Dart after the quarterback scrambled and then slid near the sideline rather than embracing contract from a defender.

“Yeah, we’ve been begging him to do that for a while now, so I’m glad that he’s starting to practice it,” edge rusher Brian Burns said with a laugh.

To be fair to Dart, the big hit he took Saturday didn’t come as a result of his aggressive nature. The quarterback was sacked by a defender he didn’t see coming. Still, it’s at least a little concerning for the Giants and their fans that the franchise quarterback has so often found himself in the blue medical tent early in his career.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s open quarterback competition might not be over, but there is a clear leader for the job.

In a scrimmage Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, Jeremy Hecklinski produced perhaps the most impressive Kids’ Day passing performance in Kirk Ferentz’s 28 seasons as head coach. The third-year quarterback completed 17 of 25 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns while rotating against the Hawkeyes’ first- and second-team defenses. He easily outdueled co-No. 1 quarterback Hank Brown, who went 9-for-21 for 42 yards.

Ferentz downplayed the performances, noting that the scrimmage was just one of nine practices during fall camp, but the lone scrimmage in front of fans and media provided obvious separation.

“I won’t overplay it,” Ferentz said. “It’s like anything; what are the guys around them doing, too? It might have made a guy look better or worse, that type of deal. So, we’ll take a look at the film.”

Ferentz often chooses his words carefully when describing his quarterbacks, especially with his first training camp competition at the position since 2017. But in a practice usually dominated by Iowa’s defense, Hecklinski tilted the balance with his precision, accuracy and decision-making. Each of his touchdown passes came on a different route.

Six of his completions were considered explosive plays — 15 yards or more — which is a critical element for offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

Twice, Hecklinski connected with tight end D.J. Vonnahme for scores. One featured a wheel route in which Hecklinski perfectly led Vonnahme for a 23-yard touchdown. Two passes later, Hecklinski threw a 37-yard strike to Vonnahme on a seam route, just past linebacker Cam Buffington.

On his first drive, Hecklinski threw a perfectly placed 4-yard out pass to transfer wide receiver Evan James for a touchdown. On another drive, Hecklinski found Reece Vander Zee across the middle, and the receiver raced into the end zone for 19 yards. In his final series, Hecklinski completed 5 of 6 passes in a two-minute drill for 66 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown to James.

The best part of Hecklinski’s day, Ferentz said, was his decision-making. In the spring, the quarterback threw eight interceptions to Brown’s four. Saturday, Hecklinski never made a mistake. On his only incompletion during the two-minute drill, Hecklinski threw the ball into the turf when no one was open.

“That is going to be a factor in the decision, crowd or no crowd,” said Ferentz, who was the only person who spoke afterward. “I think he is improving there, and that’s part of the job description. You’ve got to be smart, and there are times when you take chances, but you need to know when those times are. And, as a rule, you don’t want to be taking risks that you don’t need to take, at least unless it’s the end of the half. But he’s doing good. He’s improving.”

“The goals have just been take care of the ball and play to your best ability and lead the team, and those goals will never change,” Hecklinski said at the Hawkeyes’ media day Friday. “Those are forever goals as a quarterback.”

Both quarterbacks are vying to replace Mark Gronowski as Iowa’s starter. Brown, a fourth-year player, started two games as a redshirt freshman at Auburn in 2024 before heading to Iowa in winter 2025. Hecklinski spent a year at Wake Forest before transferring to Iowa in June 2025. Brown began the 2025 season as Gronowski’s backup, but Hecklinski supplanted him midway through the season.

Lester avoided the transfer portal this winter and instead opted for an open competition between the two quarterbacks. The third-year offensive coordinator was excited to see how they competed against Iowa’s first-team defense in front of fans.

“I honestly think the major difference between who should be the starter and who should be the backup is probably going to be who can handle 70,000 people in Kinnick,” Lester told The Athletic, “and who can take a hit and get back up and keep playing without getting rattled.”

Whether it was nerves or simply a bad day, Brown struggled mightily. He missed receivers at every level. His longest completion went for 10 yards, and he had four passes knocked down. It was similar to how he performed against Indiana last season when he replaced an injured Gronowski. Brown, who stands 6 feet 4 inches, completed 5 of 13 passes for 48 yards with an interception against the Hoosiers.

Hecklinski’s height (5-10) is viewed as a detriment, but he altered arm angles when required.

“I don’t think I’ve grown since my junior year of high school,” Hecklinski said Friday. “I’ve played a lot of games at this height, and you just have to figure it out.”