Daniel Jones’ performance in a Week 4 win over the Saints was many things. It was timely, encouraging, explosive, productive, accurate, entertaining and, for a certain GM, the best evidence yet that he might retire a happy man on Cape Cahd after all.
It was also this: An outlier.
The quarterback completed 28 of 40 passes for 402 yards and two touchdowns — the best statistical performance of his career to date — in rallying the Giants from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit for a dramatic overtime victory.
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To put that into context, that production is nearly twice the 219.1 yards that Jones had averaged in the previous 17 games. He had two completions against the Saints that were longer than 50 yards, which is as many as he had all of last season.
Completion percentage? 70.0, best in his career.
Yards per attempt? 10.1, best in his career.
Quarterback rating? 108.5, best in his career.
You get the picture. The Giants are tickled, and understandably so, by how Jones played in New Orleans and overall through the first four games. He finally looks like The Guy, and given all the doubt and criticism that the former No. 6 overall pick has faced in his career — and I’ve dished out plenty of it — that is by far the most encouraging development for this franchise in a long while.
“I’ve seen this guy weather a lot of storms already,” head coach Joe Judge said this week. “He’s put our team in a position to have success. I see him improving every day.”
Here’s the thing, though: For Jones to truly prove he is a franchise quarterback, what happened last Sunday needs to happen every Sunday. Excellence needs to become the norm, not the exception. That’s the challenge now, and it’s fitting that the latest test comes in Dallas against a quarterback who already has reached that level.
Dak Prescott is doing it every week. He has completed 75.2% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions, quietly having an MVP-caliber season one year removed from the gruesome leg injury he suffered against the Giants.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t hesitate to lock up Prescott with a four-year, $160 million contract that included a $66 million signing bonus even after the injury, and the 28-year-old quarterback looked ready to reward him with an NFC East title.
The 1-3 Giants, of course, can slow that train. That starts with Daniel Jones proving that the advantage at the most important position on the field isn’t nearly as lopsided in the Cowboys’ favor as it appeared when the season began.
(It also would help if A) left tackle Andrew Thomas continues to block like he was worthy of the fourth-overall draft pick a year and a half ago; if B) offensive coordinator Jason Garrett keeps calling plays as if the Giants are trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter; and C) Saquon Barkley again looks like the player Dave Gettleman thought he was drafting.)
Jones — not Prescott — is the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He earned it, but that the reaction in East Rutherford was closer to “OMG!” than “yeah so what” is indicative of how his career has gone so far.
“I’m certainly grateful to be recognized and appreciate it,” Jones said of the honor. “I think it says a lot about our offense and our team. The whole team has to play well to score points and to gain a lot of yards, so I think it’s a credit to all those guys.”
The Giants weren’t expected to win in New Orleans, and that will be the case again in Dallas. For this team to salvage this season after an 0-3 start, it will need to start stealing games against opponents — the Cowboys, the Rams (Oct. 17), the Chiefs (Nov. 1), the Buccaneers (Nov. 17) — that look like Super Bowl contenders.
For Jones, that means outplaying Prescott, or Matthew Stafford, or Patrick Mahomes, or reigning champ Tom Brady. He gets to measure himself against four of the very best players at his position in the next few weeks, with each week another opportunity to prove that he is capable of playing at their level.
He played that way in Week 4, thrilling the Giants that his potential is becoming reality. For the elite quarterbacks, that’s just another day at the office.
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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.
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