Daniel Jones Shines for Giants in First Game of the Post-Eli Era

Jones threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores in a comeback victory

Daniel Jones Shines in First Game of the Post-Eli Era for the NY Giants
Daniel Jones runs in for the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. (Mike Zarrilli/Getty)
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In his first start in the NFL yesterday in Tampa, quarterback Daniel Jones showed up in a Giant way.

With Eli Manning watching from the sidelines, the Duke product threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores while leading the Giants to a comeback win over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

During the 32-31 win, Jones threw for 336 yards while rallying Big Blue (1-2) from an 18-point halftime deficit. As ESPN Stats & Info noted on Twitter, Jones is now 1-0 when trailing by 18 or more points. Eli Manning is 0-44 in those games in his career.

“There’s certain things that I knew about this kid when we drafted him. He was tough, he was competitive, and in my opinion he’s a winner,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said of his 22-year-old QB. “Now the rest of it is just quarterback stuff. But those first three things give him a chance to move forward.”

For Tampa Bay, Jameis Winston threw for 380 yards and put the Bucs (1-2) in position to win, but rookie Matt Gay’s 34-yard field goal sailed wide right as time expired. “You never really know how it’s going to go. That’s the fun part. That’s football,” Jones said. “We found a way to win, found a way to finish it. That’s what’s most exciting.”

Despite the success of Jones, it wasn’t all roses for the Giants on Sunday afternoon. Star running back Saquon Barkley watched the second half standing on crutches after suffering what is believed to be a high-ankle sprain. Barkley may not be out for an extended period of time, but he’s likely to miss a couple of games at the very least.

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