The New York Giants will not be making a quarterback ahead of Week 9, as head coach Brian Daboll said Tuesday that Daniel Jones will remain the starting quarterback for their upcoming game against the Washington Commanders, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
Giants’ Daniel Jones has struggled mightily in recent weeks
The Giants’ passing offense had another lousy performance Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which New York fell short of claiming victory by a score of 26-18 for their third consecutive loss. Jones finished the game 24-for-38 on his passing attempts, totaling 264 yards through the air. He threw the game-sealing interception on their final offensive drive and failed to record a passing touchdown for the third straight game.
From Weeks 2-5, Jones was playing much better and giving the Giants offense some juice despite missing his top wide receiver, Malik Nabers, for two games. However, since then he has fallen short of providing good offense. Over his last three games, Jones has a 60% completion rate, a 67.4 passer rating, and an average of 189.3 passing yards per game.
His struggles became paramount when in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles when he was benched in the fourth quarter of their 28-3 loss in favor of Drew Lock. Lock did not provide the spark that they were hoping for, as he went just 3-for-8 on his pass attempts for only six yards.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said that some players acknowledged that if now New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor was still with the Giants he could have a chance to start over Jones the rest of the way. Despite that, Raanan added that the majority of players were not pushing for a change at the quarterback position.
There is reasonable doubt that Jones can turn things around significantly
With no Andrew Thomas to provide protection in the pocket for Jones, the offense has faltered and Jones has taken a beating. He has been sacked a total of 11 times in the last two games after being sacked just 14 times through the first six games. It is tough to imagine that the protection will improve, as the Giants have been desperately searching for ways to replace the All-Pro-level production Thomas gave them.
The Giants’ chances at climbing back in the NFC East division race are fading rapidly, as they are now 2-6 on the season and have a crisis at several key positions. Jones is in the second year of a four-year, $160 million contract, so the rest of the season will essentially be used to determine if they can build around Jones for the long-term future. However, given that it is year six of more struggles from Jones, the margin for error is decreasing by the week.