Quarterback wasn’t special vs. Commanders, but he was good enough
Whether you consider it to be a good thing or a bad one, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones on Sunday beat back the bloodhounds calling for his job for at least another week.
Jones bounced back from a horrific Week 1 performance with a turnover-free 16 of 28, 178-yard, two-touchdown effort in a 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders. With a healthy placekicker, and without a key drop from Malik Nabers and a fumble in scoring position from Devin Singletary, the Giants could have scored more points.
Head coach Brian Daboll was pleased with the quarterback.
“He went where he was supposed to go with the football. He saw the field well. Threw it to the guy he was supposed to throw it to. Gave them chances. We had chances on other plays, too, that we didn’t connect on,” Daboll said. “I was proud of him. I was proud of the way he competed. I was proud of the way he prepared during the week and I was proud of his mental toughness. I thought he did a nice job.”
By at least one analytical measure, Jones was the best quarterback in the NFL on Sunday.
From BBV’s Tony DelGenio:
Daniel Jones led the NFL yesterday in EPA/play. He also had 10.3 air yards per pass, which was 4th in the league. With a kicker he would have put 27 pts. up yesterday. Without a drop and a fumble he might have put up 35. pic.twitter.com/fykLtwPG5M
— TTJ_nyg (@TTJ_nyg) September 16, 2024
Jones was focused on the loss, not his play.
“We did some good things and we did some bad. It was a ball control game, and we needed to find a way to make some big plays,” he said. “We all know that, but didn’t get the job done. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and get the job done.”
None of this is meant to say that Jones played a great game. He played a good one. Or that he will keep the wolves at bay permanently. He won’t.
Sunday, though, Jones was good enough.
