Giants Country

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones Encouraged By Debut in New Offensive System

It wasn't a perfect outing for Daniel Jones and the Giants' first-team offense, but there were enough positives to build on for the coming weeks.

Patricia Traina

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Although he only received a smattering of snaps, a lot of eyes were on quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been up and down as he works to master a new offensive system that's very different from any he's run previously at this level.

Besides Jones's decision-making process, which has been a big topic of discussion, people were no doubt curious to see how Jones might respond when taking off with the ball in his hands as a runner.

This was of particular interest because Jones, who has missed games in each season he's been in the league, hasn't always shown good judgment in knowing when to fight for the extra yard and when to call it a day.

On his lone run Thursday night, Jones took off on a six-yard run and showed good judgment in giving himself up to take the yardage that was there to be taken, even if, in the process, he took a hit.

“It felt good to get out there, and it was just like it used to be. That’s football, right?" Jones said after the game.

Jones, who also absorbed a sack and a few hits in his 19 snaps, went 6 of 10 for 69 yards.

The quarterback missed six games last season with the most serious injury in his NFL career to date, a sprained neck. Although he was cleared for full contact months ago, it would have only been natural for the fourth-year quarterback to have that in the back of his mind in his first NFL action in nine months.

"I didn’t think a whole lot about the neck or anything like that," Jones confessed. "I felt good, and it was just football.”

Just as importantly, Jones was encouraged by how the offense ran under his direction.

“I thought it was good, and I thought it was clean. We moved the ball and converted some third downs. The second drive, we got in a tough situation with third and long, but I thought it was clean just from an operational standpoint," he said.

It's a good start, but more work is needed as the starting offense only managed three points in its two drives despite having a golden opportunity on the first drive to score a touchdown.

"There were certainly some plays we can look at and do better and clean up, but overall I thought it was good,” Jones said.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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