The Giants chose a quarterback with a middling reputation to succeed Eli Manning. The Duke product enjoyed a memorable debut
Daniel Jones had a lot of doubters to prove wrong. When the
New York Giants selected the Duke quarterback to be Eli Manning’s heir apparent with the sixth pick in this year’s draft, experts – actually pretty much everyone – accused them of reaching for someone who was not seen as a future
NFL star during his college career. Even with Manning in decline, it was a controversial decision when the Giants decided to make Jones the starter after two games – and two losses – this season. Jones, to put it mildly, failed to give his critics any ammunition on Sunday.
It didn’t look like that was going to be the case early on against Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers on Sunday, as Tampa Bay took a 28-10 half-time lead over the Giants, scoring on every single possession. Jones looked like a rookie as an early fumble led to a Tampa Bay touchdown. Worse yet: 2018’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Saquon Barkley went down with what was later diagnosed as a high ankle sprain. The only highlight for the Giants in the first-half was Jones rushing for his first NFL touchdown, showing off an entirely different skill set than the notoriously immobile Manning.