Daniel Jones plays like franchise QB in Giants upset of Vikings

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The always believed was "good." What they didnt know what they couldnt know was whether he was good enough.On Sunday, after four years of uncertainty, they needed their franchise quarterback to be good enough to win in the playoffs, to carry them when nece sary. Not every QB can.Consider that just the latest in a string of questions Jones has answered late in this season a season that was all about determining if he really was New York's quarterback of the future. Yes, he was good enough to win in his postseason debut, even carrying the Giants to their first playoff victory in 11 years.In fact, Jones was more than good against the . He was great."I would say Im impre sed, but Im not shocked," Giants running back said after Jones led the Giants to a at Minnesota in the wild-card round. "Hes been doing it all year, man. Hes a special player."Actually, the 24-year-old Jones had never done it quite like this at any point during his up-and-down career. He completed 24 of 35 pa ses for 301 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings, and he kept the defense off balance by running a career-high 17 times for 78 yards, too (though the last three runs were victory formation kneels).Jones showed a remarkable knack for knowing when to go and when to throw. He never mi sed when one of his unheralded receivers got open. And when they didnt, Jones hit them with bullets, giving them a chance to make catches even when defenders were on their backs.Most importantly, he did what franchise quarterbacks are supposed to do he led the Giants and their usually anemic offense to four touchdowns and a field goal on seven drives. And he should Tim Ward Jersey have had more than that. Jones ran for a touchdown on the field-goal drive, only to see it wiped out by an illegal shift penalty on rookie tight end .On the Giants penultimate drive the one before they got into victory formation they punted only because of s terrible third-down drop."He played good," Giants coach Brian Daboll said of Jones in his typically understated way. "Yeah, he played good. Winning football."Told that maybe he was underselling his quarterbacks performance just a bit, Daboll said, "Isnt good a good adjective to use?""Im not a writer. Im just a coach," he added. "Ive said it all year, Daniels been good for us. He continues to be good for us. He played a good game. Im proud of him."Much as Daboll wanted to paint this as busine s as usual for Jones, it really was anything but. He has definitely played better than normal over his past few games most notably his 334-yard pa sing performance at Minnesota on Christmas Eve. But he has never quite been this dangerous and productive as a two-way threat. He ran for 91 yards in a win over the two weeks ago, but only pa sed for 177. In fact, since Thanksgiving, he only has topped 200 pa sing yards once and 70 rushing yards twice.Yet in the biggest game of Jones' career, Daboll decided to put the ball in the hands of his franchise quarterback the one whom the Giants are expected to sign to an enormous contract sometime in the next few months. Barkley, who probably figured to be New York's go-to player this weekend, had a heck of a game, too, with 109 total yards. But he was only asked to run nine times and was only targeted on six pa ses.Barkley was only a supporting player Sunday. Jones was the lead. This game, both by design and by his performance, belonged to him. And he did what great quarterbacks do. He even led the Giants to a fourth-quarter touchdown, putting them in the lead for good, completing four big pa ses of 10 yards or more on the drive and picking up a first down on a gutsy, fourth-and-1 sneak from the Minnesota 7.He did it all."Oh, man, he was awesome," receiver said. "He led us. Hes the field general. Im just happy to be a part of this club.""He played great," edge rusher added. "He never flinched."The truth, as Daboll tried to point out, is Jones isnt Nathan Shepherd Jersey the only one who didnt flinch. The Giants offensive line was terrific, giving Jones all the time and holes he needed to run the offense. Hodgins, the most unheralded of the Giants unheralded receivers, had eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.The Giants defense turned All-Pro receiver into a bystander, with seven catches for just 47 yards, and stopped the Vikings on two key drives in the final six-and-a-half minutes to put the game away.This whole team of overachievers came together and gave their best performance of the season, setting up a rematch in the divisional round next Saturday in Philadelphia, against an team that has already beaten New York twice. All the Giants deserve plenty of credit for even getting to this point, and they all helped with Sunday's victory.But this is still a quarterback-driven league. Greg Van Roten Jersey And Jones showed what the Giants are capable of when they get a special performance from their signal-caller."I think weve had some of our better games recently," Jones said. "Weve found some stuff that works for us. Well keep doing it."Or at least theyll try. It wont be easy against an Eagles defense that ranked third overall, leading the league with an absurd 70 sacks. Jones faced them once this season, a 48-22 lo s on Dec. 11. He threw for 169 yards and ran for 26.So, who knows if this game against the Vikings was the start of something big for Jones? Maybe itll kick off a magical, unexpected run through the playoffs. Or maybe its just a sign that he has the poise and ability to do it again later in his career.But at least now the Giants know he can do it, that they can lean on him in a big moment, that he can carry them on a big stage. A team cant become a real Super Bowl contender without a quarterback who can do that.And knowing they have it isnt just a good feeling for the Giants. Its the best feeling a franchise can have.Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at.Top stories from FOX Sports: NFL trending in this topic
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