National Football League

Giants QB Daniel Jones would not be denied in win over Jaguars

Updated Oct. 23, 2022 11:07 p.m. ET

By Ralph Vacchiano
FOX Sports NFC East Writer

The Giants did not do a very good job of surrounding their quarterback with talent. Even when they're healthy, even when everything is working right, their offense is outmanned.

Yet somehow, they keep moving the ball and scoring just enough points to keep winning. And it's not all because of the revival of Saquon Barkley.

On Sunday, in their wild, 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was all about quarterback Daniel Jones.

On a day when the Giants lost two starting offensive linemen to injuries, their receivers tried to sabotage the game with five drops, and the Jaguars held Barkley to just 38 yards through the first three quarters, Jones would not be denied. He threw for 202 yards and a touchdown, ran for 107 yards and a touchdown and led his fifth fourth-quarter comeback in the Giants' seven games.

"He played good," said Giants coach Brian Daboll. "Again."

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Jones' performance was much more than "good." And the only thing keeping it from being great were the breakdowns around him. He was under siege, as usual, from the Jaguars pass rush, and that was before New York lost both left guard Ben Bredeson and right tackle Evan Neal to knee injuries in the first half.

Jones, though, was sacked only once. He did a masterful job of sliding in the pocket to avoid the pressure, getting the ball quickly to his receivers, and taking off on the run when he was out of options. His Eli Manning-like calm when things were breaking down was the only reason the offense moved at all.

In fact, the only thing that seemed to break that coolness was the play of his butterfingered receiving corps. Jones looked like he was fuming at the five drops on perfectly thrown passes —particularly one to receiver Marcus Johnson that might have cost the Giants a touchdown on a pass right into his hands at the Jaguars' 1-yard-line in the third quarter.

Jones wasn't happy about that public display of emotion.

"I wish I could have that situation back," he said. "I pride myself on being composed in those situations, and I wasn't there."

But what's most remarkable about Jones is that anger that was crystal clear on the television replays apparently evaporated as soon as he got to the sideline. He was right back to his unemotional, analytical self.

"He's like a cucumber, man," Daboll insisted. "He's really even-keeled. It's been that way since I met him. Even when things don't go his way. I think it's a great attribute to have."

It's been a great attribute to have this season, because in a crucial season for Jones — the final year of his rookie contract — nothing much seems to go right around him. There are only two things he's been able to count on with any consistency: Barkley and himself. And defenses clearly realize Barkley is the Giants' only viable, non-quarterback weapon and are gearing up to shut him down.

That leaves Jones basically running a season-long naked bootleg, with no real protection and no receivers he can just flip the ball to and watch them work their magic. His best receiver right now is Darius Slayton (3 catches, 56 yards), who began this season on both the trade block and the inactive list. And his second-best receiver is Wan'Dale Robinson (6-50), a rookie who is only 5-foot-8.

The rest of the corps is a group of bottom-of-the-roster players thrust into far too prominent positions. Jones shouldn't have to rely on Richie James (1-2), David Sills (1-19) and Johnson (no catches on three targets). But with Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney still injured, Jones has no other choice.

And yet he makes it work. Not perfectly. Not always efficiently. But he spreads the ball around to whoever he has, and it always seems to come together when it counts. He does whatever he needs to do to win — like on the go-ahead touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter. Jones threw the ball only once on that drive, and it was incomplete. He kept the Giants moving by running four times for 34 yards, including a quarterback sneak for a touchdown.

Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka deserve a ton of credit for helping Jones make everything work. Their playcalling has been sensational. Their use of personnel has been nearly perfect. Knowing the Jaguars were going to load up to stop Barkley, they opened the game with eight pass calls on the first nine plays. Jones went 6-of-7 for 65 yards (he scrambled for 14 yards once) and ended it with a perfect 32-yard touchdown pass to Slayton.

Then, in the fourth quarter when the Giants had worn down the Jaguars defense, their offense was almost all Jones and Barkley runs.

But it almost doesn't matter, because Jones finds a way to make anything work, whenever he's asked. Daboll even marveled at his quarterback's "consistency" with his inconsistent cast.

"He's really been consistent since we've had him in all these games," Daboll said. "He makes the right decision, throws it to the right guy. He operates our offense the way we need him to operate our offense."

If that sounds like the job of a "game manager," it's really not. Jones has been so much more to the Giants. He and Barkley are a 1-2 punch on an offense that is otherwise punchless. And when the defenses zero in on Barkley, it's Jones who finds a way to make everything go.

It's hard to say what any of this will mean long-term for the 25-year-old, fourth-year quarterback, as the Giants try to figure out if he's worth the exorbitant price they'd need to pay him to stick around another year (or more). His injuries remain an issue that might make a long-term commitment tough. And he's not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. He has only six touchdown passes and hasn't topped 217 passing yards in any game.

But his value this season has transcended the numbers. He has proven over and over again to his coaches and his teammates that he's a winner. The Giants may have won this game on a remarkable stop by cornerback Fabian Moreau, who stood up Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk on the 1-yard line on the final play of the game. But Jones is the reason they were even in that position at all.

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"D.J. had a heck of a game," said safety Julian Love. "That's who he is. He's a game player."

And that's everything in an NFL locker room. Jones might not be Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. But he has a locker room full of believers, convinced he'll find a way every week to somehow make them win.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.