Brian Daboll: Giants Sticking with Daniel Jones at Quarterback

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, pulled in the fourth quarter of their 28-3 loss to the Philadelplhia Eagles, will retain his starting job moving forward.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws the ball during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

East Rutherford, N.J. – For those hoping that head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to pull starting quarterback Daniel Jones in the fourth quarter with 11:26 left in the game in favor of backup Drew Lock, Daboll is still planning to stick with Jones. 

“Daniel will be the quarterback going forward, but obviously, we didn't do enough offensively,” Daboll said in his opening remarks following the Giants 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, adding that he was hoping for some sort of spark to what was a sluggish offensive performance.

If that was the case, then why not make the move at halftime down 14-3? “The score didn't get out of hand,” Daboll said. “I thought we had some chances there to make some plays and just didn't make 'em. I wasn't gonna take (Jones) out then.” 

Jones wasn’t happy getting the hook.  

28. 54. Final. 3. 31. NYG Week 7 Final

“I was frustrated,” he said while standing in front of his locker after the game. “I wanna be out there, I wanna be playing with my teammates and trying to score points. So yeah, I was frustrated, and yeah, I didn't like it, obviously.”

Jones finished 14 of 21 for 99 yards. He was sacked seven times, and his longest completion was 14 yards, despite the return of rookie receiver Malik Nabers to the lineup.

Besides a lack of explosive plays, which has been a season-long problem for the Giants, they once again came up empty in the red zone, going zero for one inside the 20. Their third-down conversion percentage this week was a dismal 21.4% (three of 14) which dropped their season conversion rate to 34.7%. 

Those three reasons, Daboll said, are what continue to hold the offense back.  

But these struggles have been ongoing for the better part of the season. This week marked the second time in a row the Giants scored single-digit points, and the third time this season they failed to crack double-digits. 

The Giants, who have just one offensive touchdown in their last seven quarters of play, have ten touchdowns this season, the third-fewest in the NFL. They are averaging 14.14 points per game, worse than last year’s 15.6 points per game.

Not all of that is on the quarterback–the Giants were once again plagued by dropped passes, and the offensive game plan to come out throwing despite having a modified offensive line that was without left tackle Andrew Thomas was a head-scratcher. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that this offense, despite an otherwise improved line and receiving corps, isn’t going to go very far given the current configuration. 

Still, Daboll didn’t sound like he was ready to give up on Jones, and the expectation was that the offense would be able to create the explosive plays that Daboll was seeking. 

“We have some guys around that I think can create explosive plays,” he said, adding that Jones doesn’t limit what they can do on offense. 

“We'll just go back to the drawing board and do the very best we can to try to improve that area. Which, for two weeks in a row, but it's been a little bit longer than that, we haven't created them, and we need to.” 

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