Daniel Jones had a rough day on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
After his New York Giants dug a big hole, Jones finished the day on the bench. With the Eagles leading by 25 points early in the fourth quarter, the Giants put in backup quarterback Drew Lock in place of Jones. The Eagles held on for a 28-3 win as ex-Giants running back Saquon Barkley powered the Philadelphia offense against his former team.
After the game, head coach Brian Daboll told reporters that the benching was not permanent. Jones will continue to work as New York’s starting quarterback moving forward.
“We made a change in the fourth quarter when it was 28-3, we had 100 yards, just to create a spark,” Daboll said. “Daniel will be the quarterback going forward.”
New York’s offense struggled to move the ball as Jones was under pressure from an aggressive Eagles defense all day. When he was done, Jones had completed 14 of 21 passes for 99 yards (4.7 yards per attempt). He took seven sacks for a loss of 56 yards. He led New York to a single scoring drive that ended with a 38-yard Greg Joseph field goal just before halftime.
The Giants went into halftime facing a 14-3 deficit. They punted on their first two possessions of the second half that produced a total of 28 yards. The Eagles, meanwhile, doubled their lead with touchdowns on each of their first two drives of the second half, prompting the Giants to move to Lock. The Giants backup didn’t fare any better as the Eagles completed a second-half shutout of their NFC East rivals.
Is Daniel Jones the long-term answer at QB in New York?
With the loss, the Giants dropped to 2-5. And questions continue to swirl around Jones, who has struggled since signing a $160 million contract prior to the 2023 season.
Jones got the deal despite a turnover-plagued start to his career after the Giants selected him in the top 10 of the 2019 draft. Jones threw 34 interceptions and fumbled 42 times in his first four NFL seasons.
But he limited his miscues to five interceptions and six fumbles in 2022 as the Giants finished 9-6-1 for their first winning record with Jones at quarterback. The improvement was enough for New York to ink Jones to his new deal.
Jones regressed in 2023 while averaging a career-low 5.7 yards per attempt and 151.5 passing yards per game with two touchdowns and six interceptions in six starts. His season was cut short in November when he suffered an ACL tear against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It added up to an offseason of speculation that the Giants would move on from Jones in a draft loaded with high-end quarterback prospects. New York ultimately decided to select wide receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 pick, meaning that Jones would continue as New York’s quarterback this season.
He’s shown little sign of improvement in 2024. In six games prior to Sunday, Jones completed 62.1% of his passes for 223.8 yards per game with six touchdowns, four interceptions and two fumbles. The Giants have now scored fewer than 10 points in three of their losses and have broken the 20-point barrier just twice in seven games.
But options to move on are slim in Week 7, and Jones will continue as New York’s starting quarterback for the time being.
