Who’s laughing now? Daniel Jones dominant in New York Giants debut

Daniel Jones had an incredible debut performance for the New York Giants on Sunday, quieting his doubters.

Fans of the New York Giants were furious, while the rest of us were baffled or thought it was hilarious when the Giants took quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Well, who’s laughing now?

Daniel Jones made his first career NFL start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was crisp and in control of the offense all afternoon, completing 23-of-36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball four times for 28 yards and two touchdowns, including a seven-yard touchdown run that gave the Giants a 32-31 lead, which held for the final score.

Jones did lose two fumbles on sacks against the Buccaneers, but overall, he looked fantastic. The New York Giants received a ton of scrutiny for their selection of Jones, but for now, it looks like they may have made a phenomenal selection.

Now, it is far too early to crown Jones as the next great thing at the quarterback position, but this performance comes after consistently strong performances in the preseason. With Eli Manning clearly far past the prime of his career, the New York Giants needed a quarterback to lead them into the future. Based on what we have seen so far, Jones might be the perfect guy to lead them going forward.

Jones’ ability to extend plays with his legs and create yardage on his own really stood out on Sunday. For so many years, Manning was a statue in the pocket for the Giants, not being able to make plays with his legs in almost any circumstance. Now, the New York Giants have a quarterback who can move around a little bit. Having a guy like Jones who can escape the pocket and make plays downfield even when the play breaks down is incredibly valuable.

Jones was incredible on Sunday against Tampa Bay and appears motivated to prove all of his haters wrong. I do not want to put too much stock into one performance, but based on what we have seen so far, Daniel Jones is for real and he is here to stay.