Giants' spark plug rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo to test Broncos' top defense

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DENVER (AP) — The New York Giants have replaced their stagger with a swagger and on Sunday they'll get to see how rookie spark plugs Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo stack up against the Denver Broncos' miserly defense.

The Giants (2-4) have scored touchdowns on their opening drives in all three games Dart has started after Brian Daboll benched Russell Wilson. Skattebo scored a trio of touchdowns in New York's win over Philadelphia last week.

Vance Joseph, whose defense just held the Jets to 82 yards of offense and limited Justin Fields to minus-10 net passing yards a week after the Broncos beat the Eagles and ended the defending Super Bowl champs' long home winning streak, is certainly impressed.

“I see two guys that are playing with great confidence that's changed their teams' hope moving forward,” said Joseph, the Broncos' defensive coordinator. “The quarterback is making great plays with his legs and his arm. He's given them a reason to play hard. And the runner, man, he is old school, runs behind his pads, he's breaking tackles, he's confident. He's given them juice.”

That's the formula for shifting a franchise's fortunes, Joseph suggested.

“So, those two guys are obviously a big part of that and it's fun to watch them play," Joseph said.

Dart, a first-round pick from Ole Miss, has faced a brutal schedule and key injuries but hasn't seemed the least bit flummoxed.

“Well, first of all, I have a ton of confidence in everybody that’s here,” Dart said.

Including himself.

Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who earned the latest AFC defensive player of the week honors a week after his teammate Nik Bonitto won it, had a little bit of an edge when asked about his impressions of Dart this week.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s a young guy. He’s feeling himself a little bit. He’s out there running around, he’s got the chain on, he’s dancing,” Cooper said. “You know, looks like everybody needs something. But we went against QBs who have run around the pocket and everything, try to do stuff with their legs.

"So, it ain’t nothing we haven’t seen.”

After getting sacked five times in his debut, Dart has been sacked just three times in 68 drop-backs over the last two weeks. He'll face a defense that leads the league with 30 sacks and is coming off a game in which Justin Fields was dropped nine times, one shy of the franchise record.

“It’s going to be a really good test for us, one that I think we’re all excited for," Dart said, "just because, in my mind, I see them as one of the best defenses in the entire league.”

The Broncos are honoring their Super Bowl 50 championship team Sunday along with the late Demaryius Thomas, who'll be inducted at halftime into the team's ring of fame.

“One time, I had a hard talk with Derrick Wolfe and he was like, ‘Coach, don’t mess with him,'” Joseph, who was Thomas' head coach in Denver, recounted with a laugh. “You're probably right. That's great advice. But he was a team-first guy, he was a great teammate and he always gave me great advice as a head coach.”

The Giants’ defense is showing flashes, too. Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of New York's defensive front: “They've got like four werewolves in there and it's a challenge."

Cor’Dale Flott picked off Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter of the Giants’ upset of Philadelphia after the pass rush put a lot of pressure on the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Daboll told defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to be aggressive, and with players such as Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie Abdul Carter, the talent is there to make a difference.

“You want to be able to dictate on defense because the offense has so much at their arsenal where they can motion and move and different groups and everything else,” Bowen said. “That’s something moving forward as we go: just finding ways to do that and being timely with it when we do.”