What we learned from Giants’ Week 11 loss: Mike Kafka’s Abdul Carter approach was telling

There was a sense of newness as Mike Kafka made his debut as the interim head coach and Jameis Winston made his debut as the Giants’ starting quarterback. That sense faded to the grim reality that this team finds a way to lose pretty much every week. The losing streak reached five games and another fourth-quarter lead was blown with the Packers’ 27-20 victory at windy MetLife Stadium.

Here is a day-after look at what went down:

— Seeing Jaxson Dart on the sideline was jarring in that it was a reminder of how fragile this can all be. It was certainly a good sign that Dart was able to get out on the field late last week as he moves through concussion protocol. If he was having severe symptoms, he would have remained inside, out of the sun and cold, and would not have been moving around the way he was, showing no ill effects from the previous week, when he was forced out of the 24-20 loss in Chicago after hitting his head on the ground following his fumble on a running play. Winston was mostly himself in his first game for the Giants, throwing missiles that put on display his rare arm talent. Throwing the ball with accuracy and mixing in some passes that could have — and in some cases should have — been intercepted. Cornerback Carrington Valentine is going to be kicking himself after reviewing the tape, because he should have collected two of them. There were plenty of moments, though, when the pocket was getting sticky and you could envision Dart wriggling out of trouble and making a play, with his arm or with his legs. Do the Giants score more than 20 points if Dart was in there? Probably. This is why it is important that if he does return this week to face the Lions in Detroit, we see a more mature player. A rookie needs to experience it for himself and now Dart knows recklessly throwing his body around is not the answer. It may pick up an additional first down or extend a play but the risk versus the reward must be calculated. Concussions are no joke. In the past, players often came back one week after being diagnosed. This season, only three players were on the field the week after going into the protocol. The NFL is not rushing anything anymore. Once someone gets a concussion he is more likely to get another. Dart needs to play the long game here.

— Kafka easily could have kept it in-house that rookie Abdul Carter broke a team rule this past week. Kafka could have fined Carter and be done with it and no one outside the facility would have known a thing. Instead, Kafka decided to sit Carter for the first series on defense, even though Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder injury) was missing his first game of the season and that Carter was in line to make only his second NFL start. Tomon Fox, with one previous start in four years and only 16 snaps on defense this season, was on the field to open the game and stayed out there for the entire six-play first series. Carter replaced him on the next series and played the remaining 49 snaps on defense. Carter admitted “I made a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team’’ and added he was aware there would be “consequences.’’ Kafka handled this the right way. He did not make a big deal out of it, would not disclose what the infraction was — perhaps Carter was late to a team meeting? — and then praised Carter for “playing his butt off.’’ Moving forward, holding players accountable should continue to be high on Kafka’s list.