Daniel Jones’ play will be critical to overcoming key injuries

The NY Giants fell to the Chicago Bears 17-13 in their Week 2 matchup. Now their season hangs in the balance with all eyes on Daniel Jones.

The NY Giants hopes for a .500 start to the season crashed and burned on the Chicago Bears’ goal line in the final seconds of a costly Week 2 loss. Quarterback Daniel Jones did all he could after a disastrous second-half to lead Big Blue back to victory but came up just short in the end.

After Sunday’s matchup, reports confirmed that Saquon Barkley tore his right ACL on a 6-yard run play, which had forced him to exit the game early in the second quarter.

This means that Daniel Jones – who threw for 241 yards, 1 interception, and a lost fumble – must improve under center and put the main components of his game altogether: his arm strength, his footwork, and his ability to process the field once the ball is snapped.

Mainly, he needs to step up in Week 3 and orchestrate an effective passing game with the top receiving targets he has left: Evan Engram, Darius Slayton, and Golden Tate.

Although the NY Giants signed former Atlanta Falcons, RB Devonta Freeman to fill Barkley’s role, there is no running back that can truly fill the void left by a star like #26.

And for that matter, the coaching staff will have a hard time replacing Shepard (who will sidelined for the foreseeable future with “Turf Toe”) with the players from their practice squad.

Their decision to move receivers Derrick Dillon, Austin Mack, and Binjimen Victor to their practice squad at the end of training camp could prove useful to a team now short one receiver.

For the remainder of the season, it appears Jones will have Freeman and Dion Lewis to hand the ball off to in the backfield. Statistically speaking, I can’t see how the run game won’t be more successful with these players as opposed to the abysmal 104 rushing yards (of which Barkley accounted for 34 rushing yards on 19 attempts and no touchdowns) that the run game managed through these first two weeks.

Overall, Joe Judge is being tested early on in his head coaching stint for Big Blue. However, he should be able to rely on his young QB to step up moving forward and keep the offense running smoothly.

Since Week 1’s start, Jones has 520 passing yards, 2 TDs, 3 INT, and a fumble.

He’s going to need to limit his turnovers if the NY Giants have a hope of salvaging their season and sparing fans another lost football season so early in the schedule. He’s also going to need to figure out how to establish the passing game while dealing with a weakened run game.

Every team experiences injuries. In fact, the NFL’s Week 2 schedule saw several top stars hit the Injured Reserve list across the league. The Giants aren’t alone. The sad irony is that Sunday was the first time Jones started a game with all his offensive weapons healthy and on the field at the same time; Tate, Shepard, Slayton, Engram, and Barkley.

But fans know what Jones is capable of after witnessing his impressive rookie campaign.

It’s on him now to lead this offense, as the Giants look to overcome their 0-2 start and fight for a division that is still wide open.