With no Saquon Barkley in the backfield, the Giants needed quarterback Daniel Jones to step up for the team's Thursday night game against the undefeated 49ers.
Instead, New York received another poor showing from its $160 million QB.
Jones and the Giants had no answer against the 49ers' stout defense, as San Francisco rolled to a 30-12 win on "Thursday Night Football." New York managed just 150 total yards in the game, converted on only 25% of third downs and were nearly doubled in time of possession.
Jones credited the 49ers' defense after the game, but said that the team just "didn't make enough plays" on offense.
"We just didn't make enough plays"
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 22, 2023
Daniel Jones talks about what went wrong for the Giants' offense tonight: pic.twitter.com/gH2i57cKnv
"We've got to convert on a couple of those opportunities when you play a good team like that," Jones said. "You've got to be crisp, you've got to be clean and we didn't do that.
"We didn't create a rhythm, we didn't execute, we didn't take advantage of our opportunities ... when you're playing good teams, you can't afford to do that. We didn't play well enough."
Not all of the blame can be placed on Jones, but the signal caller certainly did the Giants no favors. He couldn't seem to find any rhythm with tight end Darren Waller, who New York acquired this offseason from Las Vegas to give Jones a bigger weapon, and managed to get Big Blue just one red zone possession.
Brian Daboll was asked about Daniel Jones' play:
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 22, 2023
"I'm gonna watch the tape on the way back. I'm sure there's plays that he'd like to have back, I'm sure there's plays that everybody would like to have back." pic.twitter.com/mkrbMYfY7K
"I'm gonna watch the tape on the way back," Giants head coach Brian Daboll said after the loss. "I'm sure there's plays that (Jones would) like to have back, I'm sure there's plays that everybody would like to have back."
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Jones has certainly not looked like the same quarterback from 2022, who signed a four-year, $160 million contract this offseason to stay in New York. The Giants are off to a 1-2 start to this season, as Jones has thrown for under 100 yards in two of those contests and has been picked off at least once in all three games.
Daniel Jones stats today
The shorthanded New York offense needed Jones to shrug off the stink and find his mojo. The second half of the Cardinals' game seemed to indicate that the quarterback had found his footing in 2023, but that did not translate to the matchup against the 49ers.
Jones ended the day completing 22 of his 32 pass attempts for 137 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The longest play through the air came on an 18-yard dump off to running back Gary Brightwell, as the QB received a rating of 64.2 for his performance.
At times, if the passing game isn't doing damage, Jones will use his legs to propel the offense. That didn't happen either. Jones finished the matchup with just two carries for five yards, his lowest single-game rushing total since Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season.
As mentioned, the chemistry between Jones and Waller was noticeably off. The quarterback targeted the tight end a team-high seven times, but Waller came up with just three receptions. Parris Campbell hauled in the most targets with six, but only for 24 yards.
Daniel Jones benched
Some fans may have thought that Jones' weak showing resulted in him being benched late in the game. That wasn't the case.
On the Giants' final drive, it wasn't Jones in under center, but rather Tyrod Taylor, the backup quarterback. With the ball at their own four-yard line, the Giants ran twice and threw an incomplete pass, resulting in one of their six three-and-outs of the night.
Daboll explained after the game that the decision to take out Jones was to give Taylor some reps and continue to play a "full 60 minutes." However, it may have simply been preserving Jones with the game out of hand and the ball close to their own end zone.
It was the second time this season that Taylor has come in to finish a game. During Week 1, Jones was taken out in the fourth quarter with the Giants down 40-0 against the Cowboys.
