The Daniel Jones experiment will continue in New York. After an abysmal performance in the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants will stick with Jones as the starting quarterback for another week.
Jones only needed one week to have his starting job questioned, as head coach Brian Daboll decided to give the $40 million a year quarterback another opportunity to prove the front office right.
Does Jones deserve the benefit of the doubt? This is a move by Daboll that could cost him his job in New York, siding with a quarterback he didn't draft in the first place. General manager Joe Schoen didn't even draft Jones, yet has to justify giving Jones a $160 million contract with $105 million guaranteed just a year ago.
The contract has been a disaster -- and Jones has played poorly under the deal. Since signing the contract, Jones has completed 64.4% of his passes for 1,095 yards with two touchdowns to eight interceptions and a passer rating of 65.1 in seven games (missed 11 games in 2023 with an ACL injury).
Jones' ranks amongst his peers aren't any better. There have been 37 quarterbacks with a minimum of 200 pass attempts since the start of last season, and here's where Jones stands:
Daniel Jones -- since signing contract (2023 offseason)
| Player | Completion rate | TD% | INT% | YPA | Passer rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daniel Jones | 64.4% (37th) | 1.0% (37th) | 4.0% (36th) | 5.4 (37th) | 65.1 (37th) |
Jones has been the worst quarterback in football over the last year, and those numbers aren't getting any better. The Giants quarterback may have bottomed out in Sunday's 28-6 loss to the Vikings, having an anemic 52.4% completion rate with 4.4 yards per attempt with zero touchdowns and two interceptions and a 44.3 rating.
Only four quarterbacks had a lower completion percentage and yards per attempt than Jones. Only Bryce Young had a lower passer rating in Week 1 than Jones. In the pocket, Jones was 18 of 34 for 169 yards with two interceptions and a 41.3 passer rating, taking five sacks while holding the ball an average of 2.82 seconds (ranking 12th in the NFL per Next Gen Stats).
Giants receivers averaged 4.4 yards of separation, which was fourth in the NFL for Week 1. The wideouts are getting open, yet Jones had a 41.4 passer rating on 25 attempts targeting players in the slot or out wide.
Bottom line: If your QB is going to manage a pocket like this, you have no chance to win.
— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) September 9, 2024
This was one of multiple sacks the #Giants QB walked himself into.
He was always a poor pocket manager, but he has regressed. He has no feel for when to bail, how to reset, where to flow. pic.twitter.com/HoPgqIzMcM
This futility continues a trend of bad football for Jones. Since the start of last season, Jones has thrown more touchdown passes to the other team (3) than he has to his own team (2). Jones is 1-7 with two pass touchdowns in his last eight starts after he had two passing touchdowns in a 2022 Wild Card win at the Vikings (the Giants have been outscored 249-81 in those eight games).
Daboll is putting his head coaching career on the line by sticking with Jones, a player who has notoriously gotten coaches fired since arriving in New York. Since Jones was drafted in 2019, head coaches Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge have been relieved of their duties. Mike Shula and Jason Garrett also have been let go as offensive coordinators. All four coaches are currently out of the NFL.
If Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka -- who Daboll took away the play calling duties from this offseason -- doesn't pull the plug regarding Jones as their starting quarterback soon, they could be next.
