Troy Aikman sees the game through a quarterback’s eyes as well as any broadcaster, which makes it noteworthy he defended Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss for a huge first-quarter hit on Giants rookie QB Jaxon Dart.

Facing second-and-13 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter, Dart scrambled around the right end and ran toward the first-down marker. With Dart clearly in bounds, Elliss delivered a huge hit , which prompted a skirmish along the sidelines.

The Giants received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the play while Elliss was not penalized.

“That’s the right call,” Aikman said on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s a good job by these officials managing it, understanding what took place.”

Play-by-play man Joe Buck agreed with Aikman.

Aikman expressed that Dar

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