The first major decision the New York Giants made on their roster this offseason was to not invest in quarterback Daniel Jones. In April, the Giants were lucky enough to lock Jones for the 2023 season for just $22 million. But the Giants’ new brain, consisting of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, decided he didn’t want to hitch his wagon to Jones just yet. They declined Jones’ fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Refusing to extend a quarterback’s first contract is almost always the first step in parting ways with a team’s highly drafted caller. But the Giants insisted they weren’t giving up on him.
“We’ve done everything we can to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Giants owner John Mara said of Jones last January when he introduced Schoen as general manager. “We keep changing coaches, keep changing offensive coordinators, keep changing offensive line coaches. I take a lot of responsibility for that. But let’s bring in the right group of coaches now and give him some continuity and try to rebuild the offensive line and then be able to make an intelligent assessment of whether he can be the franchise quarterback or not. .
This assessment is complete. Jones delivered his biggest game on the biggest stage of his career on Sunday, leading the Giants to a 31-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings to advance to the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. Jones completed 24 of 35 passes for 301 yards (8.6 yards per throw) with two touchdowns and no turnovers. He also ran the ball 17 times for 78 yards and a touchdown, collecting seven first rushes (Jones nearly doubled Saquon Barkley’s carries). Jones is the first quarterback in NFL history with 300 or more passing yards, two or more passing touchdowns and 70 or more rushing yards in a playoff game, according to NFL Research.
More importantly, Jones had virtually no errors (his 11 misses were mostly smart drops or throws). The game was New York’s first playoff win since winning the Super Bowl after the 2011 season more than a decade ago, which was fitting since they were wearing the same away uniforms they wore. during this playoff run. This is where I should probably reveal that I grew up with the Giants, and I promise you this is the most fun Giants team since that Super Bowl team. And even if the Giants don’t return to the Super Bowl, Jones had earned a lot of money negotiating a contract this offseason, and even more respect in the tri-state area.
The Giants moved the ball on Sunday as well as they have all season. New York had 26 first downs on 68 plays for 431 yards (6.3 yards per play) and went 9 of 15 on third and fourth downs combined. The Giants had four touchdowns, all of which were at least 75 yards. New York’s opening run was capped by a Barkley run where he weaved between Vikings defenders like a Ferrari passing Subarus on the highway.
Barkley, who like Jones is in the final year of his rookie contract, has proven he’s back to his pre-ACL tear form this season with otherworldly explosiveness and feel. For the first time since his rookie year, Saquon rushed for 1,300 yards and double-digit touchdowns. But just as Jones had a day-and-night shift from 2021 offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to Daboll and new caller Mike Kafka, Saquon has become a better downhill runner. While Barkley only had nine carries against Minnesota, he also caught five passes and had 109 yards and two touchdowns. On New York’s second drive, they needed just four plays to go for 81 yards, with receiver Isaiah Hodgins catching a 14-yard touchdown down the middle.
Hodgins scored that touchdown beating veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, a former no. 5 draft picks and three-time first-team All-Pro player. With Peterson’s best days long behind him, Hodgins beating such a decorated player to give the Giants the lead epitomizes the Giants’ season.
Hodgins was a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft, who has had just four offensive snaps in his NFL career this season. The Giants picked him up after he was dropped from Buffalo’s practice squad in November, likely because Schoen knew him from Buffalo. The Giants lost receivers Sterling Shepard, Collin Johnson and Wan’Dale Robinson to season-ending injuries, traded Kadarius Toney and benched Kenny Golladay, allowing Hodgins to finish third over the Giants in yards rushing. received this year (351). On Sunday, he had eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, plus four crucial first downs. Hodgins apparently does all the little things well. In the second quarter, the Giants faced a third-and-7 and threw the ball to Hodgins 6 yards out. Hodgins, knowing the situation, made sure to fall back to ensure he would get the first down.
It’s not a sexy game, but it’s a savvy, one-player game that embodies the philosophy Daboll promised to bring to the Giants: be smart, tough and dependable. This team is built on so many incredibly unsexy players – punt returner turned starting receiver Richie James; right guard Mark Glowinski; safety Jason Pinnock, who was cut by the Jets just a year after being a fifth-round pick; fellow defensive back Fabian Moreau, who moonlighted as the Giants’ number one. 1 cornerback for months; and former Cowboys linebacker turned Packers reject Jaylon Smith, who became a starter in New York. The Giants entered this season essentially spending a third of their budget – about $60 million – on players who were injured or not playing for the team (or in Golladay’s case, bordering on exile from the team).
But no one has come to represent this philosophy better than Jones. He curbed his horrible turnover problem by playing smart. As a rookie, Jones led the NFL with 18 fumbles. His 2.3 interceptions plus fumbles per game was the second-highest quarterback of any season since 1995. Flash forward through 2022, and Jones had just six fumbles and threw an interception on just 1, 1% of his passes, the lowest rate among all qualifiers. quarterbacks. That decision-making combined with Jones’ rushing ability — and his willingness to drop his shoulder for yardage and run four straight plays to the point of exhaustion — made the Giants’ offense legitimately powerful. The mere threat that Jones could run opened up more passing lanes Sunday against Minnesota, and the Giants were able to do whatever they wanted on offense for most of the game.
At first, it looked like the Vikings offense, with a better paid quarterback and much more recognizable skill position players, would be able to keep up. Minnesota’s opening touchdown looked effortless. But then the Vikings started to fight. A weird fullback from Justin Jefferson to Kirk Cousins who wasted two yards on third-and-first, a penalty that nullified a fourth-and-conversion, and ultimately, Cousins’ check on fourth-and-first. 8 on Minnesota’s last offensive play that came out of sticks.
Many will point out how this embodies the literal shortcomings of cousins and Vikings. But to be fair to Cousins, he largely played well. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns (plus rushing for a third), and did not commit a turnover. He will be heavily criticized for getting just seven catches from Jefferson for 47 yards, including just two catches for 10 yards after the first quarter.
But the Giants grabbed Jefferson after the first practice, and the Vikings used him to their advantage. Giants double-cover Jefferson opened things up for Minnesota’s second touchdown, then Giants’ triple-cover Jefferson helped create the Vikings’ third touchdown. Another double cover from Jefferson opened up TJ Hockenson to convert a crucial fourth down. Jefferson’s box score was low, but his presence was a big reason the Vikings were able to move the ball. Blaming this game, or this season, on Cousins not giving Jefferson the ball is not fair.
We’ve known the truth about this Vikings team for months. They were literally the luckiest team in NFL history, at least in terms of play compared to their record. Minnesota went 13-4 despite being outscored by opponents this year. They were the first team in NFL history to go 11-0 in one-scored games. #Nerdmath suggests the Vikings were pretty much an eight or nine win team that fell behind in a 13 win season. The Vikings were a guy at a roulette table who had put his money on red and won 11 times in a row, and the casino was offering to pay for their room to make them stay longer.
The blame will be laid at Cousins’ feet, but defense is this team’s problem, and Jones and the Giants were ready to exploit it. The Giants had five explosive plays for 20 yards, tied for the most the Giants had in a game all season (tying their Christmas Eve outing against…the Vikings). Minnesota allowed the second most passing yards and most first downs this season, and their defensive weighted DVOA (which counts the heaviest most recent games) ranked 28th in the NFL. The Vikings punched their weight by winning the NFC North weeks early, but it was never a championship contender. Ironically, these Vikings still need what they’ve always needed: a third wide receiver and better cornerbacks.
Meanwhile, the Giants travel to Philadelphia for the Divisional Round, where they will face the Eagles. For all the parallels to the Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl season, this run actually has more in common with 2007: That year, the Giants lost twice to Dallas, then beat the NFC East champion Cowboys. , in the divisional round as Dallas had just retired. . The Giants will have the same chance to do so next week in Philadelphia.
But no matter how this season ends, Jones will get paid. A four-year deal for $120 million with around $70 million guaranteed is probably the absolute bottom. His real deal will probably be much bigger than that. But those details can wait. The Giants didn’t invest in Jones last year, but they won’t hesitate to do so now.
After the win, Jones spoke to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Jones used the time to give his typical, milquetoast responses: praising the defense and their offensive linemen, but saying there was more work to be done…blah blah blah. Then Jaylon Smith crashed the interview, throwing an arm around Jones and looking directly at the camera.
“That’s my quarterback!” Smith cried, turning to look Jones directly in the eye as a huge grin crossed his face. “That’s my quarterback!”
The Giants weren’t sure last year, but they are now.