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How Daniel Jones, battered and bloody, led undermanned Giants to win vs. Packers

Everything is on the line for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones this season. He’s proving he won’t go down without a fight.

With the ankle he sprained last week taped and blood dripping down his throwing hand from a turf burn on his wrist, Jones willed the undermanned Giants to a 27-22 upset of the Packers on Sunday in London.

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Like many of Jones’ games this season, the box score — 21-for-27, 217 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions — doesn’t fully capture his performance. Context is necessary.

Not only was Jones dealing with his own ailments, but his projected top four wide receivers — Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson — were sidelined Sunday by injuries. Jones even lost MVP candidate Saquon Barkley for a series in the second half when the running back went to the locker room to have a shoulder injury examined.

But Jones was undeterred. Handing off to running back Gary Brightwell (three career carries entering Sunday) and throwing to the likes of David Sills and Marcus Johnson, Jones continued to lead scoring drives in front of a decidedly pro-Packers crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“He comes in ready to go each week,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s very humble. I think it’s very, very important to him. He has very good leadership amongst the team. Players got a lot of respect for him, and I know the coaches do, too. We have confidence in him. He’s done a really good job for our football team, and the things that we have asked him to do, he’s done them well. I’m glad he’s our quarterback.”

No one has ever questioned Jones’ intangibles. And if work ethic and leadership were all it took to become a franchise quarterback, general manager Joe Schoen surely would have exercised Jones’ $22.4 million fifth-year option for 2023 in the spring.

But the NFL is a bottom-line business, and Jones hadn’t delivered enough in his first three seasons to merit that type of commitment. His stats became pedestrian after a promising rookie year, and he entered the season with a 12-25 career record. So Jones needs to do something drastic to discourage Schoen and Daboll from moving on after the season and searching for a new quarterback in next year’s draft.

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With every win, Jones will at least make it harder for the Giants to draft a replacement. With Sunday’s victory against the Packers (3-2), the 4-1 Giants have the second-best record in the NFC. If the Giants maintain this pace — and it’s hard to doubt this team any longer — they’ll finish far from the draft range where teams typically find franchise quarterbacks.

There’s still a long way to go for both Jones and the Giants, and no decisions will be made amid the emotional high of Sunday’s win. But Jones took another step toward making believers of the people controlling his fate.

“I thought the quarterback had an excellent game, and he’s had a few of those,” Daboll said. “Maybe his stats don’t reflect it, but he’s led his team down to wins.”

Here are five more takeaways from the Giants’ best win in a long time:

Quit sleeping 🥱 pic.twitter.com/MHTN8npF5B

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Giants are no fluke

It was easy to dismiss the Giants as pretenders after a 3-1 start against a weak schedule. But they were 9.5-point underdogs Sunday and beat the Packers by five. And it didn’t feel like a fluke.

The Giants appear to be for real, but it’s challenging to fully understand how. They entered Sunday’s matchup against future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers without three of their best players on defense: lineman Leonard Williams, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari and cornerback Aaron Robinson.

Then, No. 1 cornerback Adoree’ Jackson missed the second half with knee and neck injuries, while Fabian Moreau, who has filled in admirably as the No. 2 corner, left with an injury late in the fourth quarter. So the Giants were left with Nick McCloud and Justin Layne in crunchtime against Rodgers. McCloud and Layne were both claimed off waivers after the preseason and neither had played a defensive snap this season. But they were part of the defensive effort that kept the Packers from getting into the end zone as Rodgers drove for a potential tying touchdown in the final minutes.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

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It’s impossible to overstate the job the Giants’ coaching staff has done, especially in navigating so many early-season injuries. Daboll should be the clear favorite for coach of the year after inheriting a team that won a total of four games last season.

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The resiliency Daboll continuously espouses was on display Sunday, as the Giants fell into an early 17-3 hole and trailed 20-10 at halftime. Those early deficits would have been a recipe for a blowout in recent years, but Daboll’s depleted crew never backed down.

It’s easy to see why players respond to Daboll, who lets his passion emerge on game day. As Daboll exited the field Sunday, he was greeted by Schoen with a hearty hug. Daboll then exclaimed to the Giants fans above the tunnel to the locker room, “Let’s f—ing go!”

“He made a big difference,” Barkley said. “Not just only Dabes — everyone. All the guys that came in — all the coaches, all the staff and the guys who were here prior and who are here now. They are doing a great job. We have unbelievable coaches and the big thing, we got players that trust in our coaches and trust in the system.”

The part that is so encouraging is that this still is only the first year of a rebuild. The Giants have been winning despite an already underwhelming roster missing key players to injuries. Just imagine what this coaching staff will be able to do in the future at full strength and with reinforcements from another offseason.

COACH DABOLL FIRED UP!!! pic.twitter.com/ykWOv9PEIR

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Giants D bent, but didn’t break

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has staked his reputation as an aggressive play caller. So when the game was on the line, Martindale stayed true to form.

Trailing 27-20, the Packers had fourth-and-2 at the Giants’ 7-yard line with just over one minute remaining. Eight Giants defenders crowded the line of scrimmage, and they all blitzed. There was no one to pick up safeties Xavier McKinney and Julian Love blitzing off the offense’s right, as Rodgers tried to throw a back-shoulder fade to wide receiver Allen Lazard in that direction. McKinney was directly in the path of the pass and deflected it with his left hand to cause an incompletion.

The @Giants defense swats it on back-to-back plays! #NYGvsGB pic.twitter.com/sI58XrrWTV

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022

The Giants shut out the Packers’ offense in the second half (the Packers scored two points late on an intentional safety taken by New York). That was a stunning turnaround after Rodgers methodically carved up the Giants in the first half, completing 18-of-24 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

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The Giants simply made it too easy for Rodgers in the first half, and he was content to slice the defense with a million paper cuts on passes to the flats. The Packers mounted a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that chewed up nearly eight minutes and didn’t feature a single gain longer than 11 yards.

The main adjustment the Giants made in the second half seemed to be taking away those easy outlets. Rodgers threw downfield more often and completed just 7-of-15 passes for 76 yards after the break.

Aside from linebacker Oshane Ximines’ strip-sack as Rodgers wound up for a Hail Mary on the game’s final play, the Giants only had one sack. But it was a big one, as defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence continued his breakout season by driving 310-pound right guard Royce Newman into Rodgers’ lap for a sack on a third down in the third quarter. The 6-yard loss pushed the Packers out of field goal range, and they were forced to punt.

DEX BRINGS HIM DOWN 😤

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/BePkuvNKhs

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Lawrence, whose career high is four sacks, has three sacks in the last two games. An assist on his sack should go to rookie outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, whose pressure off the edge forced Rodgers to step up toward Lawrence.

“We didn’t like how we were playing in the first half,” Lawrence said. “They were hitting us here and there, little things like that. We just had to tighten up and understand how (Rodgers) was trying to break down the defense. Honestly, we just came in and said, ‘It’s not over. Let’s keep fighting.'”

Martindale threw a bunch of different looks at Rodgers. The Giants played some base 3-4 defense and spent a lot of time in their typical nickel package with two defensive linemen and four linebackers. On passing downs, Lawrence was often the only defensive lineman, joined by three outside linebackers (Jihad Ward lined up at defensive tackle) and seven defensive backs.

The Giants spent more time in a nickel package with three defensive linemen and three linebackers in the second half as they tried to remain stout enough to counter Green Bay’s potent rushing attack. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined for 97 yards on 19 carries (5.1 yards per carry), but they never got rolling in the second half.

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Let’s get creative

The influence of Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is most evident in the red zone. The Giants had the worst red zone offense in the league last season, but they scored three touchdowns on four trips inside Green Bay’s 20-yard line thanks to the creativity of the play calling.

Follow That Football 👀🏈

📺: @NFLnetwork pic.twitter.com/SqZRwCQ5sd

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

The Giants’ first touchdown came on a 2-yard run by rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger. With Barkley lined up wide, it looked like the Giants were running an end around when he took a flip from Jones. But Barkley then flipped the ball to Bellinger, who had the option to throw a pass to Jones. With Jones covered, Bellinger wisely put his head down and powered in for the second touchdown of his career.

That wasn’t all for the red zone razzle-dazzle. On the play before Bellinger’s touchdown, the Giants motioned into the wildcat formation, and running back Matt Breida gained 3 yards on a handoff from Barkley. The game-winning touchdown came from the wildcat, as Barkley took a direct snap and followed a lead block from Brightwell to cruise in a for a 2-yard score to put the Giants up 27-20 with 6:08 remaining.

He’s here!
He’s there!
He’s every —where!

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/2HOpIpX6je

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

The offense got off to an ugly start with consecutive three-and-outs on the Giants’ first two possessions. But they scored on their next five possessions against a Packers defense that was holding opponents to 17.3 points per game entering Sunday.

Saquon Barkley, superstar

The plan obviously — and understandably — was to feed Barkley early. On the Giants’ first six plays, he had three carries and three targets. With the Packers stacking the box, the Giants needed to diversify their attack. They did, and once things loosened up, Barkley continued to deliver huge plays.

Trailing 17-3 midway through the second quarter, Barkley lined up in the wildcat for the first time and broke a 40-yard run around left end behind a strong lead block from Breida. The run sparked the offense, as Jones fired a couple of lasers on third-and-longs to extend the drive before the touchdown on the Bellinger trick play.

There goes that man 🤫

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/c7qRs6iZZ9

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

There had to be a sinking feeling on the Giants sideline when Barkley’s right shoulder was driven hard into the turf on a catch late in the third quarter. Barkley missed the rest of the drive as trainers examined him on the sideline and in the locker room.

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Barkley returned wearing additional padding on his shoulder with the score tied at 20 midway through the fourth quarter. He immediately made another huge play. Lined up in the slot, Barkley got open on a crossing route and caught a short pass.

Packers safety Darnell Savage then found himself in one of the most unenviable spots in the league: alone with Barkley in the open field. The one-on-one matchup ended as most do, with Barkley leaving Savage grasping at air with an explosive cut. The 41-yard gain moved the ball to Green Bay’s 19-yard line and Barkley scored the game-winning touchdown four plays later.

“There’s no doubt what he brings to our offense any time he’s on the field is special and unique,” Jones said.

More Saquon highlights?
More Saquon highlights.

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/JqZ83Q2irs

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Barkley finished with 13 carries for 70 yards and three catches for 36 yards, so most of his damage came on those two big plays. But that signifies how much of a game-changer he can be and how much he stresses defenses. Any of his touches can turn into a huge gain.

Darius Slayton was so buried on the depth chart that even with the top four wide receivers out, he still didn’t start Sunday’s game. Instead, Sills, who has eight catches in four seasons, and Johnson, who signed with the Giants practice squad less than a week before the opener, were the top two receivers.

But Slayton was in the mix and made an impact early with a 26-yard gain on a crossing route to start a Giants’ field goal drive late in the first quarter. Slayton finished with six catches for 79 yards on seven targets. The one incompletion appeared to be a miscommunication because Slayton was open on a crossing route, but Jones threw the ball behind him.

Otherwise, the 2019 draft classmates rediscovered the chemistry they displayed early in their careers. Slayton’s speed created separation on the crossing routes that were a big part of the passing game Sunday. He also made a few tough catches in traffic, most notably a second-effort lunge to pick up 10 yards on third-and-9 to set up the Bellinger touchdown.

How'd he do that⁉️

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/lNDf6Nuvyn

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Slayton isn’t a perfect player, and he’s clearly not a favorite of the new regime. But he needs to play over Sills because he’s a far more dynamic receiving threat.

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“(Slayton) made the most of his opportunities when he had an opportunity to,” Daboll said. “When you make plays, you get more opportunities, and he did that.”

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)

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Delta Gatti

Update: 2024-05-29