Bears give Jones chance to turn Big Blue tide
By his second NFL season, Eli Manning was winning games.
Now in his second season, Daniel Jones is going to find it exceedingly difficult to follow that lead. It is not that Manning was so much further along in his development in Year 2 than Jones is right now. Manning had the makings of a capable offensive line to lean on in 2005, plus the building blocks for a defense that could be relied on. It was coming together for the Giants and Manning was on his way.
The team Jones takes into Sunday’s game at Chicago is, well, not quite on the way. Jones did some excellent things in the season-opening 26-16 loss to the Steelers, but his interception from the 3-yard line was a drive-killer and gamekiller. Jones had the right intention — throw the ball away under pressure — but the execution was off when his right arm was hit.
These things happen. Still, Jones looked downbeat afterward. He is 3-10 as a starter and has lost 10 of his past 11 games. Quarterbacks are judged on wins and losses, and Jones, despite the potential he shows, is in a losing rut.
There was no one game last season that convinced ownership Pat Shurmur was the wrong man for the job, but the Nov. 24 matchup in Chicago was likely the one that pushed his eventual firing over the edge. A week earlier, the Giants were beaten by the equally lowly Jets then were desultory on offense in a 19-14 loss to the Bears. This was a clear indication to the decision-makers: In games when the Giants were not overmatched from a talent standpoint, they were lacking in their coaching competency on the sideline.
Trailing 13-7 midway through the third quarter, the Giants were still in it last season against the Bears, until Khalil Mack stormed in for a strip-sack of Jones on the Giants’ 3-yard line. Three plays later, it was 19-7 and the Giants might as well have headed for O’Hare International Airport.
Jones last week was better than his numbers (26-of-41, 279 yards, two TDs, two INTs) — he was under pressure on more than half his drop-backs, more than any other quarterback in the league in Week 1. He also received no help from a running game that left Saquon Barkley (15 rushing attempts, 6 yards) on the wrong end of a historically feeble performance.
“I’ll tell you right now, you watch that tape from the other night, that dude stood in there like a man and delivered that ball down the field,’’ coach Joe Judge said of Jones. “That dude stood in there aggressively, he stood in there tough, stood in there confidently and our team feeds off that. We’re proud to have him on our team.’’
There is no doubting Judge’s sincerity here. There is also no doubt Daniel Jones needs to win a few games, here and there, to get his arrow pointed upwards.