New York Giants: Ranking Daniel Jones’s Top Five Plays Of The Season So Far

The New York Giants‘ rookie Daniel Jones is off to an impressive start to his career. After being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Daniel Jones was named the starter in week three. Since then, he has led the Giants to two victories.

Daniel has made a lot of big-time plays, mixed in with many rookie mistakes. But overall, it has been a nice start to the signal-caller’s career. In this article, I am ranking the five best plays of Daniel Jones’s rookie season so far, including breakdowns of the play and why I consider them to be so great.

Here is the ranking, followed by a breakdown underneath:

1. Game-winning touchdown run v. Tampa Bay

This might not be his most impressive play of the season, but it is his most important. In Daniel Jones’s first career start, he led an 18 point comeback victory capped off with a touchdown run on 4th and 5 with a minute to go in the fourth quarter. The touchdown and the victory was enough to give Giants fans hope and trust in Daniel as the next franchise quarterback after proving he is a cold-blooded winner in his first game as a Giant.

2. Deep dime to Golden Tate for a 64-yard touchdown v. New England

Daniel Jones struggled mightily against the New England Patriots in week six, understandably so. This defense is record-breaking and led by the greatest coach of all-time in Bill Belichick. However, Jones still flashed greatness in the middle of a forgettable performance.

In the second quarter, Daniel Jones cut the deficit to a one-score game with a perfect pass deep downfield to Golden Tate. The ball was dropped right over the defender and into Tate’s hands in stride so he could take it home for a touchdown. A true Danny Dime.

3. Touchdown pass to Darius Slayton v. Minnesota

According to Next Gen Stats, Daniel Jones’ 35-yard TD pass to Darius Slayton had just a 22.7% completion probability, the most improbable completion of Jones’ young career. Jones’ pass traveled 47.4 yards of air distance, and Slayton had just 1.3 yard of target separation.

4. Deep Completion to Darius Slayton v.  Tampa Bay

On this play, Daniel Jones demonstrated excellent pocket presence and arm talent. Sliding to the left to avoid the pressure, Daniel Jones tossed a bomb downfield to Darius Slayton, off-balance, and to the right side of the field, the opposite side of which he was sliding towards. The ball landed perfectly in stride for Darius Slayton, a huge downfield completion by Danny Dimes.

The video clip of this play by Daniel Jones comes with a great breakdown:

https://twitter.com/NYGDaily/status/1178311077379166209

5. Touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard v. Tampa Bay

This was Daniel Jones’s second dime of the day in Tampa Bay. In the red zone, the Giants needed a score and Daniel delivered with an insanely difficult touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone to Sterling Shepard. Shepard was double covered and needed the ball out in front of him in order to keep it away from the defenders. Jones delivered with a perfect pass where only his receiver could get it.

Below is a video of the play and a great breakdown of the play by Bobby Skinner, host of the Talkin’ Giants Podcast. Check him out:

Honorable Mentions: 

• 16 yard run on 3rd and 13 v. Washington

https://twitter.com/NYGDaily/status/1178384650382794753

• Touchdown pass to Wayne Gallman v. Washington

These are my personal rankings of Daniel’s best plays so far this season. If you agree, disagree, or want to discuss Daniel Jones or anything else relating to the New York Giants, come after me on Twitter @Anthony_Rivardo. I will be posting a poll so Giants fans can vote on what they think is Danny Dimes’s best play of the season so far. Follow me for more great New York Giants content!