ESPN cuts to emergency commercial break after horror Monday Night Football injury
ESPN had to immediately transition to an emergency commercial break after New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart took a brutal hit.
During a third-and-eight situation on the Giants' opening offensive series of their 'Monday Night Football' matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Dart stepped back and launched a deep pass toward tight end Theo Johnson.
As the star quarterback let the ball fly, linebacker Byron Young hammered him in the midsection and sent him tumbling into fellow pass rusher Josaiah Stewart, causing his left leg to contort unnaturally. This follows FOX NFL Sunday personality Terry Bradshaw's recent outburst at a colleague.
Dart seemed to be experiencing significant pain following the collision between the two defenders, immediately reaching for his knee as trainers rushed onto the field. ESPN quickly cut to a commercial while the Giants' medical personnel attended to the 23-year-old, who had already sustained a major hit in Week 1.
Peyton Manning and Eli Manning struggled to conceal their concern after witnessing Dart sustain an injury, with the former declaring: "No, no, no, no, no. That is not what we want to see. Gosh."
Eli visibly winced while viewing a replay of the collision, adding: "He gets high-lowed a little bit, Peyton ... Tough to watch. Hate to see that. Hopefully he's ok."
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Dart ultimately managed to exit the field under his own strength. After spending several minutes inside the blue medical tent, he limped directly into the Giants' locker room.
Dart was officially designated as questionable to return due to a knee injury, with backup Jameis Winston taking over at quarterback during the Giants' second offensive series of the contest.
Matters deteriorated further for the Giants when wide receiver Malik Nabers experienced an injury concern as the opening quarter came to an end. Seconds after competing for a jump ball with Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie, Nabers clutched his right shoulder before collapsing onto the turf near the Giants' sideline and rolling in agony.
He was able to get back into the game with slightly more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
Dart did not return to Monday's game, as the Rams won 28-6. He is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL following the initial tests, with X-rays coming back negative.
Further assessments will now take place to determine how many games Dart will miss.
It comes after Bradshaw's latest FOX NFL Sunday blunder left co-hosts in disbelief.
