Daniel Jones had no chance against the Ravens, nor any chance against Lamar Jackson one day when the Joe Judge Giants were exposed more as suitors than as aspirants, and yet, somehow, they still stand. standing.
The Cowboys beating the Eagles 37-17 means Jones, a 27-13 loser, somehow has one last chance to try and turn a 5-10 ugly duckling into a beautiful swan dressed in an NFC Minimum crown if can win his showdown against Andy Dalton and the Cowboys next Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
And then wait for more help after the Eagles, from all the enemies, who have to defeat the Washington football team.
The joy of the six, anyone?
No 5-10 team deserves to be alive on the last Sunday of the season, but after the giants’ disturbing lack of execution on both sides of the ball, the football gods decided to grant them a suspension of execution.
The Cowboys ’defense, unlike the Ravens’ defense, will have to be what Dr. Jones. Jones had a chance to finish the week’s 37-34 loss to the Cowboys, but couldn’t, and a field goal from Greg Zuerlein in the final second dropped the Giants to 0-5.
He wasn’t 100% healthy against the Ravens with that healing hamstring, but now he had no excuses.
The Giants need him to know this moment more than they have ever needed him to know any moment.
Jones didn’t have the legs, but more than anything, he didn’t have the kind of protectors and game creators to overcome the crazy, exasperating chaos and little achievement all around him, on either side of the ball.
The judge has done a youthful job laying the groundwork and building the culture, but you need more than foundation and culture to beat a devouring team and class program accustomed to sustained success.
Jones is a fighter and his teammates are fighters, albeit fine, but more often it’s better to be Sugar Ray Robinson than Jake LaMotta. The Giants are simply out of their weight class against the big boys in the NFL.
Because even when the judge has to endure the heavyweight opponent who punches his team in the nose for 60 minutes, Jones & Co. it can only punch as light weights.
Jones didn’t run until a lone desperate attempt to escape the rush at the last minute, and he couldn’t hide behind an offensive line that produced six sacks, and let’s not forget he was throwing to the size of d ‘Austin Mack, CJ Board and Dante Pettis. No wonder Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale dared to win Gregg Williams ’zero blitz.
There was virtually no danger that Jones could suffer a new hamstring injury in the first half, as he was on the sidelines during 22:38 watching Jackson use his arm when Big Blue exhausted his legs and legs ( 80 yards) when he felt like laughing at the lost deceptions and leading a 249-yard attack on a wacky, wacky defense.
It was early in the fourth quarter when a series represented the sad sack state of the Great Blah’s offense. It was developed like this:
Sac. Sac. Sac.
Three dropbacks, three sacks.
“I just did a better job with all of these things: identifying them and getting the ball out quickly,” Jones said.
No offense, but the New York Football Giants have none. They have not scored 20 points in any of their last five games. Jones missed two games, but his touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard was the first since the second quarter against the Washington football team on Nov. 8.
It was 20-3 when the case against GM Dave Gettleman lifted his ugly head while Jones, in his favor, completed passes to Board and Pettis, a pair of travelers. Mack had dropped a third pass in the first half.
I couldn’t have helped Jason Garrett, OC, one more game for him next week, eh? – It was coordinated during the week with Zoom because it participated in the COVID protocol and any resemblance to a vertical game plan was nothing more than a wing and a prayer. Jones ’20-yard finish with Pettis was the longest of the day.
False back-to-back starts in the third descent sabotaged Jones ’first possession. The Giants knew their best chance, perhaps their only chance, was to force Jackson to play from behind.
“We didn’t start the game the way we needed to,” Jones said. “We shot ourselves in the foot.”
It was 14-0 when Shepard made a short zig-zag when Jones waited for him to make a deep zag against Cover Zero and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.
“I have to dig deeper into that, so it’s my fault,” Shepard said.
Jones could not or would not give a percentage on the health he felt.
“I feel good. I felt like I could move, get out of my pocket and do what I had to do. I felt good about it,” he said.
For a man, players praise the coach every day.
“I think we’re on the right track and we’re going in the right direction,” the judge said.
He needs someone to hurry the passerby. Jackson tried 26 passes. He was not dismissed. And he needs better protectors and players for his quarterback.
“There are no moral victories and not getting the result we wanted is disappointing,” the judge said. “By no means does anyone agree with this, but there are positive aspects that we can get from today, positives that we can get from where we have improved throughout the season as an offensive and as a team. … Throughout this season, this team has improved week by week. “
But not on the scoreboard. It’s great that the judge likes the toughness and commitment of his players. But it doesn’t make sense if your quarterback struggles to get his team to the end zone. D-day now for Daniel Jones.