Brian Daboll may have found the one thing that can fluster his otherwise unflappable first-round draft choices: the coin toss.

Moments before Thursday's preseason finale, a 42-10 victory over the Patriots that capped an undefeated 3-0 slate, the head coach surprised outside linebacker Abdul Carter and quarterback Jaxson Dart with the news. The third and 25th overall draft picks would be representing the team as gameday captains.

For Dart, it was another test in his development plan, similar to how he was thrown in cold to Saturday's game against the Jets for one play during a Russell Wilson-led drive.

"I put him out there for the coin toss today and he's running up to me, 'What do you want me to do again? I've never done this before,'" Daboll recalled after the game. "Just the last second I told him, you're going out there, right when I got here today, a few minutes before we went out there. So he's thinking about that.

"Just try to do things that may come up one day with him. We'll keep on building him. I think Shea [Tierney] and Kaf [Mike Kafka] have done a really good job with him. He's done a good job. Credit the player, first and foremost. Being a rookie quarterback is not easy. Being a quarterback is not easy. He knows he has a lot of things to work on, but he's made progress every day. I'm glad we drafted him and I'm glad he's our guy."

Carter also wanted to make sure he knew what to do.

"Abdul was less," Daboll said. "I usually have the quarterback go out there and decide what we're going to do. He was like, 'Wait a minute, So, we're going to take the ball, but what if they defer, which way do you want me to kick?' He was out there warming up and coming over to me, I'm like, 'What?' And he's got like two questions. And I'm like, 'Don't worry about that. Just let's go.' But I wanted him to think about what it would be like one day."

Once they settled their nerves for the big moment, they linked arms and walked to midfield. They won the toss and, adhering to their instructions, elected to receive.

"I haven't been out for a coin toss since high school because at Ole Miss, we always wanted the ball first," Dart said. "I had to get my arm warmed up and get ready to go, so I had other guys go and do it for me. So, when he was like go do it, I was like, 'I can't even remember what to do.' But good experience."

The honor for the first two games went to Wilson and Brian Burns, another quarterback-linebacker duo further into the careers. They will be candidates when it comes time to elect season-long captains for 2025.

Thursday's coin toss might have provided a look into the future.

THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN…

TJ Moore, an undrafted rookie cornerback out of Mercer University, put the exclamation point on the preseason with a 44-yard pick-six to put the Giants ahead 35-10 with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. However, the mood in the stadium shifted when Moore had to be carted off in the fourth quarter with a serious leg injury.

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Jameis Winston entered the game with 2:39 left in the first quarter after Dart hit the ground hard following a 23-yard scramble. On the very first play, Winston delivered a 27-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who was targeted a team-high six times throughout the game.

Dart was evaluated for a concussion, cleared protocol, but his night ended there.

"I mean, first of all, just shouldn't have fumbled," said Dart, whose turnover after the hit was nullified by a defensive holding penalty. "Never been taken out of a game for getting the air knocked out of me, so that was the first. But, I mean, I quite honestly felt like I could split [the defenders] when I saw the open field. Honestly in this situation, I didn't feel like I was in too much of a threat to get a big hit on me. But I think that quite honestly, like it's just situation-based. If you're going to take a big hit, then you slide. I didn't feel like I was in a situation where I was going to take a really big hit, so I felt like I could extend the play and make something out of it."

Dart learned quickly that the protocols are different in the NFL.

"I was just wanting to get back out there and finish the drive," Dart said. "So I just -- everybody was walking over. I'm like, 'Let's go. I want to get back out there.' Shoutout to Jameis for throwing a touchdown and finishing that last drive."

It was a coachable moment, but Daboll won't coach the competitiveness out of Dart.

"Just certain times that you got make the right decision, I would say in this particular game is probably a good time to slide, a third preseason game," Daboll said. "Every situation is different. I've had different quarterbacks that could run and are pretty productive running the football. There is a time and a place. You know, you'd like to take as few hits as you can, but I like Jaxson's competitiveness, his toughness. You got to make the right decision. Those are split-second decisions, so I trust him. I trust the guys that I've been around, our guys. I just trust them to do the right thing. I'll never take his competitiveness away."

STAT OF THE GAME

For the first time in franchise history, the Giants scored at least 30 points in three consecutive preseason games. They defeated the Bills (34-25), Jets (31-12) and Patriots (42-10) by a combined score of 107-47.

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"Means a lot. Like you said, the ovation, if I was in the stands, I would be cheering for anybody who was the hometown kid, too. It was appreciated." – Tommy DeVito following his three-touchdown performance at MetLife Stadium

STARTING LINEUP

Offense:

• WR Jalin Hyatt
• LT Marcus Mbow
• LG Aaron Stinnie
• C Austin Schlottmann
• RG Evan Neal
• RT Stone Forsythe
• TE Greg Dulcich
• WR Beaux Collins
• QB Jaxson Dart
• FB Elijah Chatman
• RB Cam Skattebo

Defense:

• DL Chaunce Golston
• DL Elijah Chatman
• DL D.J. Davidson
• DL Elijah Garcia
• OLB Tomon Fox
• LB Chris Board
• LB Dyontae Johnson
• CB Art Green
• CB Cor'Dale Flott
• S K'Von Wallace
• S Makari Paige

WHAT'S NEXT

NFL clubs must announce their initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at noon the following day. The Giants are third in the claiming order on the waiver wire. After that, clubs may establish a practice squad of 17 players, as long as one player qualifies as international. Then, it will be all systems go for Sept. 7 at Washington.