Does Daniel Jones Have A Noodle Arm? It's Starting To Look That Way
We have now come to the stage in the Daniel Jones career where the New York Giants are simply gaslighting us about their quarterback in order to, well, no idea why.
The latest example of this desperate practice came Thursday night after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Giants to send the G-Men to last place in the NFC East.
The Giants didn't score a touchdown all game but instead relied on five field goals to keep the affair close. And Jones was terrible when it mattered most.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 26: Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants looks to pass the ball during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on September 26, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Jones Underthrows Story Of Night
This is not an opinion.
When he had opportunities to make big throws, he failed.
When his team needed him to step up in the most crucial moments, he didn't deliver with any consistency.
Yes, Jones made some solid throws, too. Let's be factually accurate. But on the whole, most of those were of the shorter variety. So, it wasn't a good enough outing.
Except if you ask Giants coach Brian Daboll.
"Yeah, three games in a row, I'm proud of the young man," Daboll said after the loss. "He's made good decisions. He's thrown the ball where he needs to throw the ball..."
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 26: Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants talks with Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys after the game at MetLife Stadium on September 26, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Jones Misses TD Opportunities
Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards with 1 interception this game. His passer rating was 81.4.
But that's the point here. This isn't about Jones completing 72.5 percent of his throws.
This is about the kind of throws he typically completed and the ones he missed.
The ones he missed cost his team the game, to be blunt.
The play below was a pre-snap penalty on the Cowboys. It was a free play for the Giants.
Jones Blows Chance For A TD
And on the play, receiver Darius Slayton is easily two yards behind cornerback Trevon Diggs. But Jones underthrows it. It's so dreadfully underthrown, the cornerback that was beaten by yards catches up and intercepts the pass.
And, no, this didn't count because the penalty on the Cowboys was accepted. But if Jones had delivered an accurate pass, the Giants are in the end zone and that would've counted.
"You'd like to hit them," even Daboll admitted, "you'd like to hit them."
Them, by the way, is plural. And that's accurate because Jones missed the opportunity to throw at least one and perhaps two more bombs for TDs.
Giants Receivers Got Wide Open
There was another opportunity in which Slayton was behind the defender that Jones missed. No, Slayton wasn't wide, wide open for that one, but in the NFL, that qualifies as open.
Functional quarterbacks connect on that type of opportunity a high percentage of time.
Jones missed rookie star Malik Nabers on a couple of opportunities as well. And that requires some understanding.
Jones outright missed Nabers on one pass that was swatted away by a defender. Nabers had a couple of steps on that defender but had to slow and wait for the pass as defenders closed and eventually slapped away the ball.
And then there was the 39-yard completion Jones threw to Nabers in the first quarter:
Even Jones Completions Were Underthrown
Was that pass complete? Yes.
Was it a good pass that maximized the opportunity of how wide open Nabers was? Absolutely not.
It should be a clue to the Giants that when a wide receiver has to slow down, and turns to face the coming pass from Jones to catch it as if it was a punt, that's not a good pass.
It's a completion sometimes because the receiver got so stunningly open. It's a completion sometimes because the secondary is lost – as the depleted Dallas secondary often was Thursday night.
But when a 39-yard completion could have been a 79-yard touchdown with an accurate throw, that is leaving points and opportunities on the field instead of registering them on the scoreboard.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 26: Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants passes the ball during the third quarter Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on September 26, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Lingering Problem For Giants
And all this, by the way, was not a one-game mirage. Jones struggled on deep balls in training camp. And according to the 33rd Team, he has completed only 2 of 13 passes of 20 yards or more this season.
He has 0 touchdowns on passes of 20 yards or more. He has one interception. He has a 16.5 passer rating.
Daniel Jones has a hole in his game right now in that he struggles with deep passes. That's grave for an NFL quarterback.