The correct response is three times.
Daniel Jones has been benched three times in 47 starts at quarterback for the Giants. This is how seldom he has participated in a game that could plausibly be labeled a shootout – one in which both teams score at least 30 points.
In Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season, Jones participated in a game of this nature for the first time as a starter, replacing Eli Manning. Jones was fantastic. With two touchdown passes in the second half and a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:16 remaining, he led the Giants to a 32-31 comeback victory in Tampa from a 28-10 halftime deficit.
Given that? Not so much in terms of gunfights. In Week 15 of that season, Jones threw his first (and only) five touchdown passes in a 41-35 victory against Washington. Jones accomplished nothing notable in a 37-34 loss to Dallas in Week 5 of 2020.
Daniel Jones and Jared Goff N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
Jones’ tenure as the starting quarterback has coincided with a decline in offensive output that began before he took over. Consequently, defense has been predominantly competent, resulting in games that are frequently tight and relatively low-scoring. This season, Jones has a vise-like grasp on the ball, Saquon Barkley is healthy and the NFL’s running leader, and the Giants are finding ways to win (seven times already) far more often than they are making the mistakes that lead to defeat (only twice).
The Lions, an imbalanced squad with a poor record (3-6), will arrive to MetLife Stadium on Sunday with one of the league’s most potent offenses and one of the league’s worst defenses. When the Lions are present, scoring is rarely at a premium. If this holds true at the New Jersey Meadowlands, where the first taste of winter (cold and windy) will arrive, will Jones persuade his team to heat up and stay up?
Jones stated, “We always attempt to score as many points as can.” “Every time we have the ball, we attempt to score a touchdown. This does not vary from week to week dependent on our opponents.
The Lions, led by quarterback Jared Goff’s ability to distribute the ball, are seventh in the league in scoring at 24.3 points per game and have topped 30 points four times this season. This area is not frequented by the Giants. They have failed to score 30 points in 37 straight games, the longest current skid in the NFL.
Jones is coming off a 24-16 victory over the Texans in which he posted a career-high passer rating and was given only 17 pass attempts, leading to the notion that the Giants were “conservative” — a label head coach Brian Daboll emphatically rejected.
Daboll stated, “Whatever we need to do, that’s what we’re tasked with.” “Every game is unique. Every circumstance that arises in games is unique.
Sunday will be a pick-your-own-adventure type of game for the Giants. The Lions allow a league-high 29.3 points per game and are almost as inept against the pass (27th) as they are against the run (26th) (31st). On third down, opposing offenses are converting 51.1% of their opportunities, making the Lions the league’s worst third-down defense.
Jones responded, “I believe so,” when asked if he loves participating in shootouts. Pardon his indecisiveness; he hasn’t participated in many of them.
Jones stated, “When it’s a competitive game like that, it’s absolutely enjoyable to play.”
Perhaps the Giants will be able to slow down the high-scoring Lions, who are more dangerous on their fast indoor track in Detroit: they were shut out by the Patriots in New England and scored just six points in a defeat to the Cowboys in Dallas. Jones will have to shake off the cobwebs and remember what it’s like to be part in a high-scoring contest if this is not the case.
“I like winning,” Daboll stated. Therefore, whether the score is 3-2 or 45-48, it is our obligation to find a way to win. “However that may be, I enjoy it.”