Apparently sometimes the numbers DO lie.
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Pro Football Focus has named New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones its Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2 in the NFL.
Sure, Jones had a decent game in Thursday’s 30-29 loss to the Washington Football Team, throwing for 249 yards and one touchdown, and adding another 95 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Jones finished the night with a 102.2 QB rating.
But one could argue Jones wasn’t even the best quarterback at FedEx Field, with Washington’s Taylor Heinicke throwing for 336 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, good for a 99.6 QB rating.
And certainly there were other QB performances from Week 2 more worthy than Jones:
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers: 255 yards, 4 pass TD; 145.6 QB rating
- Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs: 343 yards, 3 pass TD, 1 interception; 131.5 QB rating
- Tom Brady, Buccaneers: 276 yards, 5 pass TD; 129.2 QB rating
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks: 343 yards, 2 pass TD; 128.8 QB rating
- Derek Carr, Raiders: 382 yards, 2 pass TD; 126.2 QB rating
- Kirk Cousins, Vikings: 244 yards, 3 pass TD; 122.4 QB rating
- Kyler Murray, Cardinals: 400 yards, 3 pass TD, 2 interceptions; 1 rush TD; 117.6 QB rating
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Personally, I would take any of the quarterbacks named above over Jones every day of the week and twice on Sundays. And don’t forget about the non-quarterbacks who had tremendous Week 2 efforts:
- RB Derrick Henry, Titans: 182 rush yards, 3 TD
- RB Aaron Jones, Packers: 67 rush yards, 1 TD; 48 receiving yards, 3 TD
- WR Cooper Kupp, Rams: 9 receptions, 163 yards, 2 TD
In any case, here’s how PFF tried to justify its decision:
He led all quarterbacks in Week 2 in total completions on passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield with 11, and even that could have been more, as two more of his downfield throws were dropped. The third-year quarterback also led the position in positively graded throws and recorded the week’s lowest negatively graded throw rate, an impressive feat, given that he was under pressure on 44.7% of his dropbacks. Jones didn’t let pressure disrupt the timing of the offense, standing tall in the pocket and delivering accurate throws. He also showed off the impact he can make in the running game with three runs of 10-plus yards, tying Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts for the most of the week.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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