The Giants have their new quarterback. Any questions? Any more doubts? The New York Giants indeed have their quarterback of the future, and his name is Daniel Jones.
The same Daniel Jones who was ridiculed by Giants fans and pundits alike when General Manager David Gettleman used the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to select him, have egg all over their face this evening, as Jones, in his first career NFL start, led the Giants all the way back to a thrilling 32-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jones was impressive early. He gave the Giants the kind of mobility from the pocket the team had longed for from Eli Manning as the veteran quarterback's skills set diminished over the past few seasons.
From extending plays to making plays, Jones was doing it all Sunday, and the Bucs had no answer to stop him.
With the Giants down 12-3 in the second quarter, and facing a critical third and five, Jones scrambled to his right for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the Giants 41. After completing his new two passes, Jones hit Saquon Barkley in the flat for a 19-yard gain to move the ball into a goal-to-go situation. Jones capped off the drive by running the naked bootleg into the end zone to cut the Bucs lead to 12-10.
Things weren't always perfect for the young quarterback. He had a critical fumble late in the quarter that the Bucs turned into a touchdown to extend their lead to 25-10. Jones even lost his best playmaker in Barkley who left the game with a high ankle sprain.
Amazingly enough, even with his team down 18-points, Jones put the Giants on his back. On the first play of the second half, Jones connected with tight end Even Engram on a 75-yard touchdown pass, and capped the score off with a two-point conversion to Sterling Shepherd to stun Tampa Bay. Suddenly the Giants were only down 10.
After a Buccaneers three-and-out, Jones went right back to work, guiding the Giants on an 80-yard scoring drive, with his 46-yard completion to D Slayton being the critical play of the drive. Finally on third and goal, the rookie found Shepherd again in the end zone, this time for a touchdown to cut the Tampa lead to three points, 28-25.
Over the next quarter and half, both the Bucs and Giants traded three and outs, before Tampa finally broke the ice by turning a Jones fumble into three more points to extend their lead to 31-25 with six minutes to go.
Now it was up to Jones to do the unthinkable, especially for a rookie. His predecessor had led the Giants to 37-come-from behind victories in his career. Would Jones finally get his? The young quarterback's ear was tethered to Manning's every word on the sideline before strolling out to the field for the Giants last shot with 3:16 to play.
And, boy, did the kid deliver.
On the first play, Jones hit Shepherd on a short screen pass for five yards to get things started. Then he dropped a dime into the hands of Slayton for 21yards to midfield. Two plays later, Jones found a wide open Shepherd underneath and hit him for what turned into a 36-yard gain to the Buccaneers 12 yard line with two minutes to go.
After a pair of incompletions, the Giants had one last play on fourth and five at the Tampa Bay seven. Jones took the snap out of the shotgun, and stepped back to throw. Suddenly he noticed that nobody was in front of him and took off for the end zone, untouched for the score.
The Giants sideline exploded in excitement as Jones was mobbed by his teammates in the end zone. The Giants led for the first time all day, 32-31 with 1:16 to play.
Still too much time for Tampa. Too much time for Jamies Winston to find Mike Evans for a 44-yard gain to the Giants' own nine yard line. When Evans came down with the catch, it looked the Giants were destined for a heartbreaking loss. Then Matt Gay missed a 34-yard field goal wide right as the Giants celebrated their first victory of the season.
On the day, Jones completed 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdown passes. He was responsible for all four of the Giants touchdowns on Sunday.
To all the naysayers. To the Mike Francesa's of the world who blasted the Giants for drafting Jones, and for benching Manning, Pat Shurmur and David Gettleman -- at least for one week -- get the last laugh.
The Giants found their quarterback.
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