There was no lack of excitement for fans of the New York Giants as the team started Daniel Jones for the first time and received a win immediately following the change, defeating Tampa Bay to move up to a 1-2 record rather than dropping to 0-3. The game was closer than most would have liked, with the Bucs needing to miss a field goal to give the win to the Giants, but there were plenty of positives too – mostly from the offense, which put up 32 points in its first truly good outing of the season.
The offense was led, of course, by Daniel Jones – the number six overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft and the rookie who was only named the starter less than a full week before the game. Jones starting was a drastic change but it looks to have paid off, at least for now, as Jones threw for a couple of touchdowns and rushed for two more. With Saquon Barkley missing the second half with an ankle injury, the pressure fell on Jones to take over the offense and the rookie responded well.
But what does Jones think about the game and his performance?
“I would probably take out two fumbles and then go from there. I don’t know, you never really know how it is going to go and that is the fun part,” Jones said when asked if this was how he would script his first game. “That is football. We found a way to win, we battled, and we found a way to finish it. That is what is the most exciting.”
“I think we were certainly confident in who we are as a team, I think we have a number of playmakers,” Jones also said about playing the second half without Barkley. “Obviously he is a huge piece of that, there is no doubt about it. We had guys step up and make plays which I think shows the versatility of this team. No doubt he is a huge piece of it.”
It seems likely that Barkley won’t be around for the next game, but things aren’t all bad for the Giants – with the passing offense looking good for once, the team might just have a shot of making it to an even record under Daniel Jones, if the defense can improve and give that quarterback led offense more of a chance.