He has seen his game-winning play a few times on television, laughing at the suggestion he changed the channel.
Daniel Jones certainly does not mind hearing and seeing and being reminded of the impact he made in his first NFL start. The impact he made in the game and the impact he made to a Giants franchise and a fan base desperate to see him do exactly what he
did.
The aura around the rookie quarterback instantly changed the moment he looked up, saw nothing but green grass and ran 7 yards to glory for a touchdown and the decisive points in a 32-31 victory Sunday at Tampa Bay. Just like that, the sales of his No. 8 jersey skyrocketed. Those who knocked him coming into the NFL draft fell silent and those who lauded him — quite a minority — stood up to take a bow.
When Odell Beckham Jr., as a rookie, announced his presence with that outrageous one-handed catch in a game — a loss — to the Cowboys, he got a shout-out on Twitter from LeBron James. Yet when Jones’ phone began vibrating, it was mostly well-wishes from family and friends from back home in Charlotte, N.C., and from his college connections at Duke.
And so, asking Jones if he now feels like a celebrity elicited a wide smile from the 22-year-old.
“Not really,’’ he said Wednesday after practice. “It’s the same thing. I go home and then I come in to work every day. No, I don’t feel like it’s changed a whole lot.’’
Jones was unflappable as he shouldered the responsibility of taking over after two games this season for Eli Manning, the franchise icon sent to the bench to make way for the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft. The numbers for Jones — 23 of 36 for 336 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and two rushing touchdowns — were sensational and earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. The numbers only tell part of the story. Everything looked different with Jones behind center, and he actually brought the
Giants back from a 28-10 hole at halftime without Saquon Barkley, who left in the second quarter with a right high ankle sprain.
There was almost everything crammed into Jones’ debut: Highlights, adversity, physical punishment, fumbles (two of them), a big deficit, a rousing comeback. Jones was the first Giants quarterback to run for two touchdowns in a game since Jeff Hostetler did it in November 1991 and the first Giants quarterback with at least two passing and two rushing touchdowns in a game since November 1948, when Charlie Conerly did it against the Boston Yankees.
Jones became the second quarterback since the 1970 merger to throw for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns and run for two more in his NFL starting debut. Eric Hipple of the Lions did it Oct. 19, 1981.
It was all heady stuff for a youngster who has his image glowing in lights on a billboard in Times Square and is being heralded as a Giants savior.
“You asking if he’s got a big head?’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “No. No. Not at all. I see the same player I saw last week preparing to play his first game.
“I think it’s hard to see by his demeanor if he’s not confident about anything. That what was great and what was on display last week, his toughness and his poise. Those were things we saw ahead of last week’s game and you just got to build on them.’’
Teammates could not detect any change in Jones as the Giants gathered for work in advance of Sunday’s game with the winless Redskins at MetLife Stadium.
“He’s real level-headed, definitely understands all the attention and things that come with success and a big performance like that,’’ tight end Evan Engram said. “He’s real mature and he’s handling it the right way and continuing to keep his focus.’’
Jones is quick to point out he was not perfect in his starting debut, pointing to two lost fumbles.
“Can’t afford to turn the ball over twice like that at critical points in the game,’’ he said.
He is aware of all the outside attention, he said, “to some extent.’’ Following up on what he did, and improving on it, are paramount in his mind.
“It’s extremely important,’’ he said. “There’s a whole lot I need to clean up and do better. I’ll lock in on those things this week and hopefully play better on Sunday.’’