Make or Break? This Player Could Be Difference in Giants Playoff Hopes, Says Analyst

Daniel Jones needs to play more like he did in 2022 if the Giants are to have a chance at the postseason, writes PFF analyst Gordon McGuiness.

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones / Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY

If the New York Giants are to avoid missing the playoffs yet again, they will need a total team effort from the entire roster. However, according to PFF’s Gordon McGuiness, one player in particular is going to need to step up to ensure the Giants reverse their misfortunes: quarterback Daniel Jones.   

"The Giants got to the playoffs in 2022, with head coach Brian Daboll helping quarterback Daniel Jones to a 76.0 PFF grade, the second-best mark of his five-year career. However, he struggled in 2023 and played just 21 snaps after Week 5 due to injury," wrote McGuiness.

"Getting the former Duke quarterback back to the level of play he showed from 2020 to 2022 is the minimum needed to get them back to the playoffs. Even that is unlikely to be enough to take them deep into the postseason, though, with Jones producing a big-time throw on just 3.0% of his pass attempts in his career so far."

Jones is coming back from a season-ending ACL tear he suffered one year into his massive four-year, $160 million contract extension, which he signed last March. 

After leading the team to a 9-7-1 record and a playoff berth, the wheels fell off the wagon and Jones, behind arguably some of the worst offensive line play in the league last season, only managed to produce two quarters of quality football in six games.

This past off-season, the Giants did everything they could to put Jones in the best possible place to succeed. General manager Joe Schoen vastly upgraded the offensive line, which will be coached by Carmen Bricillo, hired to replace Bobby Johnson.

They also drafted receiver Malik Nabers, one of the top receivers in the draft, to give Jones a legitimate No. 1 receiver, which he hasn’t had since landing with the Giants in 2019. 

And there is even the possibility of head coach Brian Daboll, who helped shape Bills quarterback Josh Allen into an upper-echelon quarterback when he was Allen’s offensive coordinator, taking on the play-calling duties this year.

It remains to be seen whether all that adds up to Jones being the quarterback he was in the 2022 season. 

While Jones is on track to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, the team still needs to determine how much he’ll be physically able to do in the summer and preseason games so that he is indeed ready for the start of the season.    

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