Giants QB Daniel Jones Cracks Top-10 List for Clutch Play
As the New York Giants keep their collective fingers crossed that the roster upgrades made in the off-season help incumbent starting quarterback Daniel Jones return to being the player he was in 2022, Jones, who is entering his sixth season, has one thing going for him in his quest to silence his critics.
The former Duke signal caller landed on CBS Sports analyst Douglas Clawson’s list of top-10 most clutch quarterbacks, Jones coming in eighth on the list.
No, that’s not a misprint. Explained Clawson of his including Jones on the list: “[Jones] had very few clutch opportunities through three seasons, but he's been steady lately. He successfully led the Giants down the field to tie or take the lead on 11 of 25 opportunities (44 percent) in the last two years, a top-10 rate in the NFL.”
Not bad for a quarterback that has one winning season under his belt.
To be fair though, being clutch is only part of the overall picture for a quarterback. Clawson notes that while he does not believe Jones's numerous game-winning drives in 2022 were legit, he credits the quarterback’s history of leading game-winning drives as the reason for listing Jones in his top-ten list of most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL.
“I'll be the first one to tell you that his NFL-record five game-winning drives through seven games in 2022 was a fluke,” Clawson said. “But, while he may not have been landing haymakers and Saquon Barkley was certainly doing his fair share of the heavy lifting, credit Jones for taking care of the ball and adding value with his legs.
“His five turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime in the last two years is the same number as (Bengals quarterback) Joe Burrow. He also led a game-winning drive on the road in the postseason against the Vikings in 2022.”
Jones is striving to be fully cleared from a torn ACL suffered last season. He’s entering a critical season ahead as if he fails to produce or if he gets injured again, the team can get out of his four-year, $160 million contract after this year when the guaranteed money dries up.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen upgraded the offensive line and added speedster Malik Nabers to the mix with the hope of giving Jones a better supporting cast. In addition, it looks like head coach Brian Daboll is going to take over the playcalling, all of which leaves Jones with zero excuses not to shine this season if he does indeed get the green light from the medical staff regarding his knee.
EZEKIEL TREZEVANT
Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.