The New York Giants earned a clutch victory over the Seattle Seahawks last week. New York’s formidable defense shut down Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ high-flying offense, helping backup quarterback Colt McCoy earn a victory in place of the injured Daniel Jones.
This week, the Giants will play another NFC West team. New York will host the Arizona Cardinals in another crucial matchup with major playoff implications. The Giants are hoping to have their second-year starting quarterback Daniel Jones back from injury. Jones missed the Giants’ Week 13 matchup after injuring his hamstring in the Giants’ Week 12 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
All reports on Daniel Jones’s health have been positive this week, though, as he aims to play on Sunday. If Jones is out there, it will be a battle between the top two quarterbacks taken in the 2019 NFL Draft. Arizona’s quarterback, Kyler Murray, was the first overall selection in last year’s draft. The Giants drafted Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in 2019.
Both of these quarterbacks, Jones and Murray, have made significant improvements in their sophomore season. One area where both of these young signal-callers have excelled this season is the deep-passing game. Kyler and Daniel have been two of the most accurate and efficient quarterbacks in the NFL on throws traveling over 20 yards.
Daniel Jones & Kyler Murray going deep
According to Pro Football Focus, Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray have the first and second highest passer ratings on 20+ yard throws. Daniel Jones ranks first with a passer rating of 143.1. Kyler Murray ranks second with a passer rating of 129.2.
When throwing passes 20+ yards down the field, Kyler Murray has not thrown an interception. He has thrown 8 touchdowns and totaled 691 passing yards on 20+ yard passes.
Daniel Jones has not thrown any interceptions deep either, but he has not gained as much yardage or thrown as many touchdowns as Murray. Jones has thrown 5 youchdowns and totaled 535 passing yards on 20+ yard passes.
Both of these quarterbacks have turned into gunslingers in their second seasons. Murray and Jones have been aggressive when throwing downfield, but also efficient. The Giants and Cardinals both possess excellent defenses, but if these two gunslingers get hot, we could see a deep-ball shootout in MetLife on Sunday.