How Daniel Jones Can Make Giants’ Off-season Decision Regarding His Future Easier

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has had a rollercoaster type of career, but as far as the Giants current leadership brass of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, what happened in the past stays in the past.

Unless, of course, we’re talking about this year and past games this season. Schoen and Daboll, who will jointly decide if the 25-year-old Jones is their quarterback of the future, will consider the quarterback’s full body of work—how he’s performed on the offense, his health history, his locker room presence, etc.—before deciding how much, if any, to invest in his future with the team.

There is one thing, though, that Jones can certainly do to further advance his case to remain as the Giants’ primary signal caller: win Sunday night at Washington.

Jones, who has never really been a part of meaningful football this late in the season, will be entering a playoff-like environment when the Giants visit the Washington Commanders. The winner of that game will gain the head-to-head advantage in the postseason chase, whereas the loser will see its playoff chances dwindle as it loses control of its destiny.

“Yeah, I think it’s a really big game for all of us,” Jones said when asked if he viewed it as the biggest game of his career. “It’s a big divisional game on the road in December. Yeah, it’s a big game for us.”

If there’s one thing people might say Jones has in his favor =, it’s been the success he’s had playing at FedExField. Jones has completed 67.6 percent of his passes (73 for 108) for 813 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions, most of that coming in his rookie season in 2019.

He’s also 2-1 in games played on the Commanders’ home turf, but he’s 0-9 in primetime games, this weekend being the first he’ll play in on Sunday Night Football.

Things won’t be easy for Jones—they haven’t really been all season. He’s been working with a MASH unit of receivers, one which this weekend could see Richie James, the team’s leading receiver, sidelined if he doesn’t clear the concussion protocol.

That receiver group has produced 22 dropped balls, tying Jones for sixth-most among his peers (with Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs)

His offensive line, which has also been something of a MASH unit of late, has allowed 203 pressures according to Pro Football Focus—second most behind Justin Herbert of the Chargers. Forty-one of those pressures, by the way, are sacks, for second most in the league behind Russell Wilson of the Broncos.

But there have been signs of growth from the fourth-year quarterback.

He’s done a nearly pristine job of taking care of the football, whether he’s simply standing in the pocket executing a designed run or running for his life.

He’s made smarter decisions with where to go with the ball, his current completion percentage of 66 percent being the best of his career, and his interception total of four tied for the second-fewest (with Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers) among quarterbacks who have taken a minimum of 50 percent of their team’s dropbacks.

He’s also stayed healthy despite the beatings he’s taken nearly every week, having shown remarkable resolve to not let an ankle injury suffered earlier in the season stand in the way of leading his teammates into battle.

But while Jones has shown that he is a quarterback that the team can with rather than despite, what he hasn't done much of in his career is show himself able to load the team on his shoulders and carry them across the finish line when it matters most.

Such as in games like what the Giants are about to play this weekend in Landover, Maryland.

"Yeah, I think it’s big for all of us. It’s not about me--it’s not about any one guy, it’s about the team, it’s about an opportunity we all have to play in the playoffs," Jones said.

"The only way we’re going to do that is taking care of business one week at a time. That’s where we’re focused, that’s where I’m focused, and we’re excited for the opportunity.

That's a big reason why Jones isn't sitting on pins and needles, worrying about the impact this game will have on his future.

"My mindset has been the same the whole way," Jones said of his future. "I don’t think it changes now just because we’re later in the season. I’m going to focus on playing as well as I can, and when the season is over, I’ll look back and probably have a more complete thought about that. But yeah, just trying to play as well as I can."

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