Why the loss to Carolina is the final straw for the Giants and Daniel Jones

The clock is ticking on New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones’ time as starter, an unfortunate end to the career of a hard-working, good guy and leader who had so many roadblocks thrown his way since his 2019 rookie season that, if nothing else, he , he deserves kudos for getting back up and trying to fight every time he gets knocked down.

Unfortunately, the Giants have spun their wheels with Jones under center, and the time has finally come for them to make a move that some might argue was long overdue.

The highlight of Jones’ Giants career came last Sunday in Munich, Germany, against a Carolina Panthers team that came into the game with perhaps the worst defense in the NFL. In a game the Giants should have won, Jones puts in perhaps his worst performance in this team’s five-game losing streak.

While coaches preach that a loss doesn’t fall at the feet of one player, in this case it’s certainly fair to say that if Jones makes a fraction of the plays he missed, especially in the first half, the outcome of the game might just change. is the same. very different and the growing speculation about his impending benching may not be as loud as it is today.

What went wrong for Jones?

For starters, he has consistently held the ball for too long throughout the game and through most of his losing streak, leading to unnecessary pressure and sacks.

Most notable during the Panthers game was a 3rd-and-1 flea flicker that, despite having two wide open receivers on the field, led to him taking a sack.

Also from this angle it is clear that when Jones catches the ball, Wan’Dale Robinson is wide open over the middle and Malik Nabers has plenty of space.

Based on Daboll’s tendencies and the success the Giants found on the ground, the Giants most likely would have gone for it on fourth down if the pass had fallen incomplete, but ultimately they were forced to punt after the sack.

This may seem like a one-off, where it could be described as a trick play that simply went wrong, but it’s important to note why it went wrong.

This is something we’ve been talking about a lot lately, where it seems like Jones has reverted to his indecisive self, holding the ball for too long and creating negative plays.

The flea flick wasn’t a bad decision, despite Daboll saying he would take it back. The execution by Jones made it a bad game.

There was also an interception by Jones where he doesn’t deserve 100% of the blame, but he deserves most of it.

Jones tries to hit rookie running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr. running back out of the backfield, but the ball is too far behind Tracy, making the catch more difficult and leading to Josey Jewell making an athletic interception.

Jones should have thrown that ball further down the sideline so that the only result would be Tracy catching it with little chance of turning onto the field or the ball falling incompletely out of bounds.

Instead, he sped up his mechanics and threw a lethargic ball that caused a turnover. A rusher came in, but Jones had plenty of time to throw normally instead of rushing the pass.

The ball was still catchable and should have been caught by Tracy, but the bulk of the blame still falls on the shoulders of the veteran quarterback who made more than $45 million this year.

The Giants have some of the worst yards after catch numbers in the NFL right now in 2024 with just 4.4 yards after the catch per catchthe fourth lowest in the league.

If you watch film, it’s easy to understand why these numbers are so low. The reason for this is that receivers often have to take a break to give themselves a chance to play the ball. And if they break the pass, the defender can close in and limit the YAC.

The Giants have done their best to make it work with Jones this year, from upgrading the offensive line to adding Nabers and letting Brian Daboll decide. But with each passing week, it’s clear that Jones’ confidence is taking a hit as he continues to show that he doesn’t fully trust what he sees and that he’s afraid of making a mistake.

Unfortunately for him and the Giants, no amount of coaching can fix something that only Jones himself can fix but hasn’t after six years.