The New York Giants were right there with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football.” Boasting one win heading into the Week 8 contest, Daniel Jones and the Giants found themselves up 14-6 at the half.
Unfortunately for Big Blue, Jones’ turnover issues cost his Giants a winnable game. The second-year quarterback tossed two interceptions, including this brutal pass early in the third quarter.
When all was said and done, Jones completed 25-of-41 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns and those two picks. Since the start of his rookie season, the former first-round pick has 12 games with multiple turnovers. According to this note from ESPN, that’s three more than any other player in the NFL.
Sure Jones showed off tremendous arm talent in almost leading New York back in what was a 25-23 loss. That’s fine. No one is questioning the kid’s talent. However, both the tape and his statistics tell us a major story.
Through the first eight games of the 2020 NFL season, Jones' numbers are terrible.
Daniel Jones stats
- Completions: 168
- Attempts: 275
- Completion %: .611
- Yards: 1,666
- TD: 7
- INT: 9
- QB rating: 73.1
That’s obviously not going to cut it in the NFL today. We don’t exist in an era of NFL football similar to the 1980s when throwing 25 touchdown passes in a season was seen as top-level stuff.
However, it’s more about Jones’ turnover issues than anything else. That has to be concerning for first-year head coach Joe Judge and Co.
Where do the Giants go from here with Jones?
To be perfectly clear, the season-ending torn ACL running back Saquon Barkley suffered back in Week 2 has had a major impact on Jones. General manager David Gettleman really wanted to see how this backfield duo would work in 2020. He’s obviously not going to get the chance.
With the Giants boasting a 1-7 record on the season, there are now legitimate questions about whether the Giants simply decide to end the Daniel Jones experiment in 2021.
The 2021 NFL Draft is absolutely loaded at quarterback. That includes likely No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, who could potentially make his way to Jersey as the New York Jets’ replacement for Sam Darnold.
In addition to Lawrence, Justin Fields (Ohio State), Trey Lance (North Dakota State) and Zach Wilson (BYU) are all seen as likely top-20 picks.
Could the Giants simply decide to trade Jones for pennies on the dollar while starting anew at quarterback? We’ve seen other teams such as the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins do this recently after exhausting draft capital on young quarterbacks.
Heck, the New York Giants’ division rival -- the Washington Football Team -- is looking to do just that with struggling signal caller Dwayne Haskins.
Either way we spin it, Jones’ star is quickly fading in Jersey. His performance in the New York Giants’ “Monday Night Football” loss to a vastly superior Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad adds another layer to this.
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