The New York Giants‘ offense has been pitiful in 2020. The Giants’ attack is averaging only 11.8 points per game and has not scored a touchdown in over two weeks. Second-year quarterback Daniel Jones has received plenty of criticism for the team’s poor offensive play this year.
Daniel Jones has had his struggles, particularly with ball security. Jones has turned the ball over seven times in four games. But, there has been quite a lot of good mixed in with the bad, despite the current narrative indicating otherwise. In particular, Daniel Jones has been excellent when throwing down the middle of the field.
Daniel Jones’s Stats Down The Middle
Daniel Jones has excelled when throwing down the middle of the field. Next Gen Stats has charted every Daniel Jones throw this season and noted how he has done in each section of the field. Week One was especially impressive for Jones.
In that Week One loss to Pittsburgh, Jones threw the ball down the middle of the field 16 times. He completed 13 of those passes for 182 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Daniel followed that up with another great outing down the middle of the field in Week Two. Against the Bears, Jones completed 13 of his 15 attempts down the middle for 172 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Giants’ offense struggled to do anything impressive in Week Three, and that includes Daniel Jones. This was definitely his worst performance of the season so far, and he was not efficient throwing in any direction. In this game, Jones threw 12 passes down the middle of the field and completed only 5 of them for 45 yards and 1 interception.
While the offense remained stagnant and struggled in Week Four, Jones did bounce back in some way. Throwing down the middle of the field, Jones completed 8 of his 11 attempts for 101 yards and 0 interceptions. This accounts for over fifty percent of Jones’s passing yards in this game.
Overall, it is hard not to recognize how efficient Daniel Jones has been while throwing down the middle of the field. In total through four weeks, Daniel Jones has completed 39 passes down the middle of the field on 54 attempts, a completion percentage of 72%. Without that pitiful Week Three performance, Jones’s completion percentage down the middle would be about 81%.
In total, Daniel Jones has thrown for 500 passing yards down the middle of the field in four weeks. This accounts for 56% of Jones’s 889 passing yards this season. Considering just how efficient Daniel Jones has been while throwing in this direction, it would be wise to see the Giants incorporate more throws down the middle of the field in their offensive game plan. New York is going against a struggling Dallas Cowboys defense this week. Expect to see some Danny Dimes delivered between the hashes.