The New York Giants are 3-6 this season coming off of a big win last Sunday. This week, the Giants have no matchup scheduled as they are on their Week 10 bye. The bye week is a perfect time for NFL teams to make adjustments to their game plans and regroup. For the Giants and their inept offense, there is a clear adjustment that needs to be made. Daniel Jones and the Giants’ offense needs to start throwing the ball downfield.
General consensus believes that Daniel Jones has had a decent season thus far. The third-year quarterback has done all he can behind a poor offensive line and a battered group of skill position players. These factors have led the Giants to go with an ultra-conservative approach this season.
Jason Garrett is rarely dialing up deep shots. The Giants’ offense is not making attempts to push the ball downfield. In fact, the New York Giants are throwing the deep ball at the lowest rate in the NFL this season.
Daniel Jones deep-pass percentage ranks 35th
In 2020, Daniel Jones was the best deep passer in the NFL according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Daniel’s passer rating on deep throws in 2020 was the highest in the league at 134.3, and his completion percentage on such attempts (48.7) was the fourth-highest mark. This would lead many to believe the Giants would put an emphasis on deep passing in 2021. However, that emphasis has not been placed, as the Giants have thrown the ball deep at an incredibly low rate this season.
Only 7.2% of Daniel Jones’s passing attempts in 2021 have traveled 20+ yards downfield (PFF). Out of all quarterbacks with at least 10 deep passing attempts, Daniel’s attempt percentage is ranked 35th (dead-last) in the NFL. Only 21 of Daniel Jones’s 293 passing attempts this season have been 20+ yard passes.
Daniel Jones is throwing 20+ yard passes at the lowest rate of all quarterbacks in the NFL this season. This is truly perplexing considering the quarterback’s elite accuracy and statistics on deep passes in 2020. If the Giants want to turn their season around after this bye week, they need to start dialing up more deep shots and letting Danny Dime.