Football fans can be so unforgiving. Take your typical New York Giants’ fan. I know a few, and to a man, they have been engaged over the past two weeks in an endless chorus of “I told you so,” “Stop touting Daniel Jones as an MVP candidate.” Just like Jerry Butler warned, “he will break your heart.”
These warnings began last week after the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Steelers and they only intensified after the Week 10 overtime win against Atlanta. “This is the Daniel Jones we remember from his six years in the Big Apple." In the past two weeks, Indy’s QB has been sacked 12 times and thrown four interceptions. Worst of all, he has put the ball on the ground six times, losing three of them to the other team.
Now, just so I don’t sound like too much of a Daniel Jones apologist, let me be clear. Those numbers are truly awful. If Jones continues playing like that, I’ll start writing that Riley Leonard should be starting and just handing the ball off to Jonathan Taylor 40 times a game.
The thing is, I don’t think that is Daniel Jones in 2025.
Daniel Jones must allay fears from his past to keep Indianapolis Colts’ fans smiling
The problem is that it was Daniel Jones back in 2019, his first year in the league. That’s the QB those sympathetic Giants’ fans are remembering.
In his rookie season, Daniel Jones led the NFL in fumbles. He fumbled a lot. 19 times in thirteen games. You want to know how many NFL players have coughed up the ball that many times since Jones did seven years ago? The answer would be zero. No one has equaled that number. No one has even come all that close.
That season, Daniel Jones lost the ball on a fumble 1.4 times per game. That is not tenable. Unfortunately, Colts’ fans may have particular feelings of déjà vu in recent weeks because the last time a starting QB approached that fumble rate was in 2022, and the QB in question was Indy’s own Matt Ryan.
There is no denying that Daniel Jones had a serious ball security issue as a young quarterback. He improved some in his second season, though he still hit double figures in lost fumbles. He wasn’t much better in his third season either, but a neck injury ended his season before he reached double digits for a third straight year.
But then, something seemed to click. Over these final three years in New York, Jones fumbled a total of 14 times in 32 games. So he actually cut his fumbling down by more than fifty percent from his first three years to seasons 4-6.
But Giants’ fans don’t remember that part.
This season, Daniel Jones is playing quarterback at a very high level. He is throwing the ball deeper than at any point in his career. He is throwing the ball more accurately than at any point in his career. His touchdown-to-interception rate is the best of his career.
My explanation for this is twofold. For the first time in his career, Daniel Jones is playing with a quality offense. He has a very good line. He has very good receivers. He has a sensational running back.
Daniel Jones has also become a better quarterback over the years. There is no reason to assume that he will suddenly regress to the rookie of 2019, who could fumble during the opening coin flip. With quality players around him, the veteran Daniel Jones can make quality plays.
The Giants fans that I know have a different set of explanations. Their primary one is that Daniel Jones is just getting lucky, and we are now seeing that luck run out. A smaller group says it has something to do with the entire universe being aligned against New York.
I don’t believe Jones is simply getting lucky. I do believe he will fumble a few more times this season. When a quarterback is looking downfield, that can happen. It is better that he keep his eyes downfield than that he grow tentative in an effort to protect the ball. If he keeps being aggressive, the successful deep shots to Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren will far outpace a couple more fumbles.
If I’m wrong and my Giants’ fans friends are right, well, then Riley Leonard better use this bye week to start working on his handoff technique with Jonathan Taylor.