New York Giants 'Optimistic' Daniel Jones Will Start vs. Buffalo Bills

After New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones left Week 5's loss to the Miami Dolphins with an injury, coach Brian Daboll is feeling good about him playing against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

With the Buffalo Bills' loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the rearview mirror, they now turn their attention to their Week 6 Sunday night home game against the New York Giants.

While the Bills are banged up in their own right, their next opponent is also dealing with some injury concerns. Giants starting quarterback Daniel Jones left Sunday's loss against the Miami Dolphins with a scary-looking neck injury, which left his status in doubt against Buffalo.

However, Giants coach and former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said his quarterback is trending in the right direction.

"I'd say we're optimistic," Daboll told reporters Monday. "He's feeling better today, so think he's moving in the right direction. See where he is, obviously, when he comes back on Wednesday. But he doesn't feel terrible today.

New York Giants team trainers attend to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) after an apparent injury during the second half agianst the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium / © Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY

"I want to get back upstairs and meet with the trainers and the doctors. Having talked to him, he said he's feeling probably better than maybe he thought he'd feel. So, I'm just going to hold off until I get an update and go through that but optimistic after talking to him."

As for Jones, this unfortunately is not his first time dealing with neck issues. He also missed the final six games of the 2021 season while dealing with a similar injury. Any neck injury is a scary one, but for now, Jones said "I don't know exactly what it is."

After signing a four-year, $160-million extension with the Giants this offseason, Jones has had a brutal start to the season, even before his injury. In five games, the former No. 6 overall pick has thrown for 884 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. His quarterback rating of 39.1 also ranks 28th out of 32 qualified players.

To be fair to Jones, though, it's hard to blame him too much when he's running for his life on nearly every play. Jones has been sacked 28 times so far, the second-most in the league and only one behind Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders.

If Jones can't go on Sunday night, then the Bills will instead face off against veteran backup and old friend Tyrod Taylor, who played in Buffalo from 2015 to 2017 and helped the Bills break their long playoff drought in his final year with the team. Taylor also got banged up in the Giants' previous game, but Daboll said he just had the wind knocked out of him and will be fine.

As of Tuesday, the Bills are 14-point betting favorites as they look to bounce back from their previous loss.