Over the past two years, one major criticism has surrounded New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones: he is a turnover machine. Jones simply could not stop putting the ball in harm’s way in his rookie 2019 campaign. He threw 12 interceptions in 13 games and fumbled the football an absurd, league-high 18 times in that same span.
Daniel Jones suffered from a severe case of “fumble-itis” in his rookie season. In 2020, though, Daniel has still been criticized for his tendency to turn the ball over. He is still regarded as a turnover machine just a little over halfway through his sophomore season.
But is this a fair criticism of Daniel Jones in 2020? Has he really been turning the ball over at an extreme rate when compared to the rest of the NFL’s quarterbacks?
The NFL’s biggest turnover machines in 2020
This year’s top turnover machine is not Daniel Jones. Instead, it is another NFC East quarterback: Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles. Carson Wentz not only leads the league in interceptions (14 in 10 games), he also leads the league in fumbles (10 in 10 games). While Daniel Jones fumbled the ball at an extreme rate last season, he never threw interceptions at the rate that Wentz has this season.
There have been plenty of other, more-talented quarterbacks turning the ball over at a high rate in 2020. MVP-candidate Russell Wilson is fourth in the NFL with 10 interceptions. The G.O.A.T., Tom Brady, has thrown 9 interceptions, already surpassing his interception total from 2019 (8).
Many of the league’s top turnover-committing quarterbacks in 2020 are widely considered some of the best players in the sport. But they do not get trashed and disregarded the way that Daniel Jones does. The biggest reason why: wins. Jones has struggled to win football games in his career. But, coming off of a two-game win streak with no turnovers, Jones has an opportunity to flip this narrative.
Daniel Jones turnovers in 2020
Daniel Jones still ranks towards the top of the NFL in total interceptions + fumbles. But with all of these highly-talented quarterbacks turning the ball over at a higher rate than Jones, it is confusing to see why he faces so much criticism that other quarterbacks do not.
Daniel Jones has thrown 9 interceptions in 10 games. He has also fumbled the football 7 times in that span. Only 5 of those fumbles have been lost, though, meaning Jones has turned the ball over a total of 14 times in 10 games.
Turning the ball over more than once per game is not a sustainable winning formula. The Giants have learned this in recent weeks. Jones has gone two straight weeks without turning the ball over and won both of those games. If he can continue to play at this level, Daniel Jones can get rid of this bad reputation and begin to establish himself as a legitimate quarterback in the NFL.