The New York Giants have every reason to celebrate Jaxson Dart’s debut. The rookie came in, took hits, kept pushing, and walked away with the team’s first win of the season. That kind of toughness is easy to get behind. But once you peel back the excitement and start digging into the tape, toughness and leadership are just the surface.

The real conversation lives in the X’s and O’s. And while Dart’s first outing was impressive, no doubt. But Kurt Warner nailed the nuance: It was good, it was sparking, but it wasn’t elite. “I mean, if you just break down the X’s and O’s, it wasn’t a great performance,” Warner said on The Rich Eisen Show. “You know, (he) made some throws, missed some throws, missed some things. But I think you could feel the spark that he gave this team.” Indeed!

The Giants looked different with Dart under center. But we can’t ignore that Warner noticed things that kept him from calling the performance great. We’ll go through the X’s and O’s. For starters, the 22-year-old quarterback put up an impressive outing as he completed 13/20 for 111 passing yards and 1 touchdown.

If we talk about the bright side, PFF notes that Dart didn’t ‘WOW’ with the downfield throws. But he avoided turnovers and completed efficient short passes. When the pocket was clean, his passing grade was solid. On top of that, the rookie was productive when lanes opened. He ran 10 times for 54 yards and also scored a rushing touchdown.

However, if you zoom in, the flaws start to pop. Dart’s passing chart and NextGen numbers make it clear that most of his throws were short, with an average depth of target sitting at just 5.9 yards and hardly beyond 20. Under pressure, things got even shakier. He faced heat on about 32%-36% of his dropbacks, went 0-for-4 when pressured, and his time-to-throw ballooned to 4.17 seconds.

Now, don’t get it twisted. He still played really well overall and showed flashes of what a franchise QB looks like. But Warner’s point holds weight. He wasn’t nitpicking. He saw the same cracks, the numbers back up. But at the end of the day, though, this was only his first start.

Jaxson Dart is aware of his flaws

Jaxson Dart became the first quarterback from this year’s rookie class to win a game. The quarterback got the nod after Russell Wilson led the Giants to an ugly 0-3 start.

Now, the Giants fans are surely raving about the 22-year-old quarterback, but if you ask Dart himself, he’d point out the improvements he requires in his game.

After a successful debut, Dart was already in the film room and picked apart his performance.

“Be a little bit cleaner with my footwork, in the pocket. Just be a little quicker in my progressions,” the Ole Miss product said. “I felt like I could have got the ball out of my hand and probably just thrown away.”

That’s where that leadership and toughness come in after we studied X’s and O’s.

Dart’s evaluation of his footwork, progression, speed, and decision-making on sacks confirms how well the rookie understands his game. But for him, the Giants vs. the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 was just one game. “But at the same time, it was just one game, so we got a long season,” he added. “Don’t make it anything bigger than what it is. It was just one game.”

Heading into Week 5, the rookie is aware of self-criticism. He’s aware of the improvements required in his performance. But at the same time, Jaxson Dart is also obsessed with perfection.