Jones guides G-Men to 2nd straight win

EAST RUTHERFORD >> Daniel Jones provided the spark and the Giants are feeding off it on what they hope is the path back to the playoff hunt.

Jones threw a touchdown pass and created excitement with his arm and legs, Saquon Barkley’s replacement Wayne Gallman scored two touchdowns, and Jabrill Peppers scored on a 32-yard interception return to lead the suddenly revived Giants to 24-3 victory over the winless Washington Redskins on Sunday.

“This is a team beginning to play a little better, we’re beginning to jell,” said veteran cornerback Michael Thomas after the Giants (2-2) won their second straight. “Daniel has been a difference with those fresh legs, young legs, and making plays. They (the offense) have some stuff to work on and we do, too. But I like the things we are doing and we just want to keep getting better.”

The mistake-prone Redskins (0-4) are heading the other way. They were limited to 176 total yards by the much-maligned New York defense and they didn’t get a boost when embattled coach Jay Gruden inserted first-round pick Dwayne Haskins Jr. at quarterback for Case Keenum.

New York intercepted the pair four times, with Haskins throwing the last three.

The Redskins’ start is their worst since losing their first five in 2001.

Jones, the No. 6 pick overall in the draft, has the Giants thinking about the here and now since replacing two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning as the starting quarterback. He rallied New York from an 18-point deficit in his first start against the Buccaneers last week, and was solid early, leading New York to touchdown runs on its first two series.

The Duke product was 23 of 31 for 225 yards with two interceptions. Winning tends to overshadow the mistakes.

Gallman, who is going to start for the foreseeable future with Barkley battling a high ankle sprain, caught a 6-yard TD pass and scored on a 1-yard run to stake New York to a 14-0 lead.

“All I feel is energy from my teammates,” Gallman said. “We want it and we just want to be better. I can only picture how much better we can be next week.”

Keenum was 6 of 11 for 37 yards and an interception when Haskins came on midway through the second quarter. The move came after Quinton Dunbar picked off Jones on consecutive passes, but Haskins went 9 of 17 for 107 yards and could produce only a 21-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins on his initial series. He was picked off three times, the last two by Janoris Jenkins.