Russell Wilson entered the game for Dart for two plays, handing the ball off and throwing an incompletion. As the Giants were in formation to punt, Daboll was seen arguing with team physician Dr. Scott Rodeo on the sideline.
“I apologized directly to our team physician,” Daboll said after the game, via The Associated Press. “We were getting ready to go for it on a potential fourth down. I would have burned a timeout if he could have come out there. I was asking how long was it going to take. You want your guy out there, not at risk of anything else.”
The Prime Video broadcast then showed a replay of Daboll conversing with individuals peering out of the blue medical tent as Dart was being evaluated.
“I just stuck my head in to see how our quarterback was doing,” Daboll said Friday. “In no way would I want a player to come back out there that wasn’t ready to play. I have great respect for that process.”
Rookie running back Cam Skattebo was also shown entering the blue medical tent while Dart was being evaluated.
“I knew going over there I needed to calm down a little bit because I knew he was going to be on fire,” Skattebo said. “When I was in there, he was a little fired up, but we know we have to go through protocol and do all that stuff to make sure we can get back on the field. I went in there and kind of, ‘We’re good, man, we’ve got you,’ and that’s it.”
It was then announced that Dart was evaluated for a concussion and was cleared. He re-entered the game early in the fourth quarter once the Giants regained possession.
Mara issued the following statement on the league’s review and the team’s handling of concussion protocol:
“I spoke to Coach Daboll this morning about approaching the medical tent last night. While I firmly believe, as he has stated, that he was not trying to influence the process in any way, he understands that the appearance of going to the tent is inappropriate.
“We have protocols in place as a league to ensure player safety, and we need to allow our medical staff to execute those protocols without interference.
“We understand the situation is under review by the NFL and the NFLPA, and obviously we will cooperate fully.”
Making his third career start, Dart finished 17-of-25 passing for 195 yards with one touchdown and added 58 yards rushing and another score while leading New York to its second win of the season.
