Von Oliver Jensen
Does he have franchise quarterback potential or is he just a poor copy of franchise icon Eli Manning? The fate of daniel jones, the New York Giants quarterback, could make a decision this weekend. The Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, 10:20 p.m. live on ProSieben, ran.de and joyn) as an opponent.
“This organization has a long history of winning and being successful in the postseason,” the passer knows about his responsibility: “For us as a group, it’s about being a part of this historic organization with success.”
Nevertheless, the last great successes of the Giants are a long time ago. Jones was 14 years old when the franchise last won a playoff game. Back in the 2011 season, the Giants even won the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.
After that, the franchise went downhill. The New Yorkers have only made the playoffs once in the past eleven seasons. This postseason visit is now six years old and promptly ended with a 13:38 defeat against the Green Bay Packers.
Daniel Jones is a free agent after this season
Jones was set to make a fresh start when the Giants surprisingly picked him for the 6th draft in the 2019 draft. His performances since then have been mixed. So much so that the Giants let him enter his fourth and final year of contract in 2022 without exercising the fifth-year option.
Possibly an error?
In any case, Jones is having the best season of his career under Brian Daboll, who only took over the post of head coach in the 2022 season. He threw for 3,205 yards, has a 92.5 quarterback rating and threw three times as many touchdowns (15) as interceptions (five).
Curious: Jones is now the only first-round pick among the seven starting quarterbacks in the NFC, despite being peppered with notable passers like Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins.
In the AFC, on the other hand, if Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) were fit, all seven teams would be led by a first-round pick.
Jones knows about the strong competition in the playoffs: “They’re all really good players, really good teams, really good offense. We have faith in our group. I have faith in myself. But it’s about what we do as a team, what we do as a unit and what we achieve together.”
The Giants lost to the Vikings at Christmas
The dress rehearsal against the Vikings failed. On December 24, the Giants lost 24-27 to a field goal from 61 yards. This does not necessarily have to be a bad omen. Also in December, the Giants played against the Washington Commanders 20:20, only to prevail two weeks later with 20:12.
So the Giants are capable of improving – even against the Vikings?
“I think it’s a similar situation, because we play against each other twice in a row,” says Jones about the possible parallel: “I think there are some experiences that we can gain and use on our way. But of course it is every game different.”
Only five quarterbacks won a playoff game with the Giants
Historically, the four-time Super Bowl winner has made a strong playoff team. The Giants played 32 playoff games in the Super Bowl era and won 20 of them. The downside: you started 27 different quarterbacks during this time. Only five of them won a postseason game: Scott Brunner, Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler, Kerry Collins and Eli Manning.
Jones has a chance to join this list. The 25-year-old knows that the good performances from the regular season are no longer important. “I think everyone knows where we are now,” he emphasized: “We’re in the playoffs. We’ve finished the regular season. If you lose, you go home.”
And Jones in this case into an uncertain future.
