Can Giants QB Daniel Jones change narrative around him? Maybe not, but wins will help

SEATTLE — After six seasons as a New York Giants quarterback, Daniel Jones understands the New York media experience. That’s especially true when thinking about the ups (the 2022 playoff victory) and downs (where do you even want to begin?) of his career.

“There will always be a story of the week or a kind of idea that’s out there,” Jones explained Sunday. “It’s our job to know what’s real and know what’s going on. To fix the problems that are real but also to ignore the things that aren’t.”

This past week, Jones and his teammates were tasked with trying to ignore a narrative that suggested the Giants had no chance to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The thinking went: This was a cross-country trip to one of the most hostile environments in the NFL against a quality opponent without two of their top playmakers in rookie sensation Malik Nabers and starting running back Devin Singletary. Coming off an ugly loss against Dallas last Thursday, the Giants had no chance. A fall to 1-4 was a given.

Or so the story of the week went.

But Jones and his teammates didn’t let a bad narrative get in the way of a good day. On Sunday, they played their most complete game of the year en route to a 29-20 victory that might just help change the trajectory of their season.

Jones, in particular, looked poised throughout Sunday’s game, racking up 257 yards and two touchdowns while going 23-of-34 passing. Of course, what’s more important than the quality stats — which he’s posted routinely lately — was marrying them with a win. Against Dallas, Jones’ final numbers looked good, but the scoreboard didn’t.

On Sunday, Jones made both shine.

“It all started with DJ just dicing the defense up, being confident as hell and just throwing the ball downfield,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said after Sunday’s victory.

Actually, the way things started Sunday, it certainly didn’t seem like a win was in the offing for New York. In fact, the Giants’ first offensive play seemed to foretell a rocky afternoon, as Jones tripped in the pocket and then fumbled, pushing the Giants within five yards of their own end zone. Jones recovered, however, and proceeded to lead a 10-minute drive down the field which ended catastrophically. Running back Eric Gray fumbled while diving into the end zone, and Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins recovered it before running 102 yards for a Seattle touchdown.

99 yards and a skip into the endzone…

TOUCHDOWN RAYSHAWN JENKINS! pic.twitter.com/XY4wpFXLwI

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 6, 2024

But the Giants didn’t let the devastating start derail them. Instead, two series later, Jones marched the Giants 81 yards down the field and knotted the game 7-to-7 with a touchdown pass to Wan’Dale Robinson.

That’s six for Robinson 🫡

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/uoRBHFsui5

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 6, 2024

Jones set up that 7-yard strike to Robinson with an 11-yard scamper. That was his longest run of a game in which he relied on his legs quite a bit. Jones rushed 11 times — more than any game since the 2023 season-opener (13) — for 38 yards.

While Jones’ legs are an asset, he should probably be more careful going forward, as he took a few cringe-inducing hits — though he delivered a few hits of his own, lowering his shoulder and impressing his teammates.

“That man does not feel pain because he was running right into the fricking smoke all day today,” Eluemunor said. “I mean as an offensive lineman, you’ll run through a brick wall for that type of guy.”

GO DEEPER

Giants return blocked field goal for TD, beat Seahawks

Fortunately for Jones’ health, the Giants running game didn’t rely solely on him trying to be a battering ram. Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. stepped up in the absence of Singletary, rushing for 129 yards on 18 carries in his first career start. Gray, the second-year back, added 50 receiving yards on three receptions.

But it was the passing game where the Giants shined. A week after taking a lot of criticism for missing his deep shots, Jones connected on Sunday.

He finished 2-for-2 on passes that traveled 20-plus yards in the air, both of which went to veteran receiver Darius Slayton on the same drive. He hit Slayton down the near sideline for a 41-yard gain before connecting with Slayton again on a 30-yard score three plays later.

DJ LAUNCHES TO SLAYTON 🚀

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Ei9YalCAPD

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 6, 2024

That Jones was so productive Sunday without Nabers, who had a league-high target share of 38.2 percent coming into the game, is encouraging. It’s even more encouraging that Jones keeps stringing together quality games. Over the past four weeks, Jones has completed 67.6 percent of passes, thrown for 952 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception while taking only seven sacks. Jones’ 0.18 EPA/dropback during that stretch (Weeks 2-5) ranked sixth in the league entering “Sunday Night Football.” Even with his abysmal Week 1 factored in, Jones is 15th in the NFL in EPA/dropback (0.04).

“It’s never been easy for him, but everything we’ve asked him to do, he does it the very best he can do it,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s played some good football here. We’re going to need him to continue to do that.”

It’s been and up-and-down start for New York, now 2-3, but the Giants offense has looked better each game and this week at least, the final score reflected that.

“I feel like I’m a better player than I was then,” Jones said when asked if he feels he’s back to his 2022 playoff level. “I’m a better player every week. That’s what you’re always striving for. I get comparing to ’22 or years past or whatever that — I don’t know how productive that really is. Just focus on getting better right now and being the best I can be week to week.”