Daniel Jones left the field early in the fourth quarter knowing his days were over after he was quickly diagnosed with a neck injury.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the New York Giants. On Sunday, things got worse. All eyes now turn to Monday, when Jones will undergo more neck testing, a reminder of the neck injury that forced him to miss the final six games of the 2021 season.
Jones underwent an X-ray on Sunday and said he will have imaging tests on Monday to determine the problem.
The Giants were dealt another blow in Sunday’s 31-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins, losing their starting quarterback who was sacked six times and hit a lot.
“I don’t know what it is yet,” Jones said. “We’ll know more tomorrow.”
The Giants still don’t have their best running back and don’t have more than half of their starting offensive line that they should have — with all that in mind, it’s no wonder the season has gone so fast, with New York now sitting at 1-4 on the season.
This is the fifth time in the past seven seasons that the Giants have started 1-4 or worse. No Giants team has ever made the playoffs after such a start. Considering that neither Jones nor any other offensive player has been able to score or block enough points so far, it’s anyone’s guess as to where the season will go.
“There’s a lot of good guys with the right mentality,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “We didn’t put it together based on the results we were looking for. It’s definitely disappointing to lose, it’s disappointing. But you go back and look at these things and move on and that’s what you have to do.”
The Giants are shorthanded — running back Saquon Barkley’s ankle injury kept him out for his third straight game — and have used four different starting combinations on the offensive line this season. The AFC East-leading Dolphins also looked sluggish. Tyreek Hill had two catches for at least 64 yards and Devin Akan rushed for 76 yards. The Giants looked like they were standing still.
But the offensive line may be the biggest problem. More injuries have forced New York to use a fourth different starting lineup on the offensive line this season. Jones was beaten early and often. To his credit, he performed well, completing 14 of 20 passes for 119 yards and no interceptions. The Giants have given up seven sacks, bringing their total to 30 so far this season, tying the second-most sacks in five games in NFL history. Even backup Tyrod Taylor took a few hard hits after replacing Jones but still finished the game.
There were no touchdown passes either. This is becoming a trend for the Giants.
The Giants scored a touchdown before halftime for the first time this season. This is a score by Jason Pinnock.
He plays defense.
Of all the shocking statistics about the Giants’ offense through five games, here’s the one that stings the most: Thanks to Pinnock’s 102-yard interception return, the defense now has more touchdowns than the offense had in the first half. The number of formations (one) is more (zero).
“We have to do better in every aspect,” Daboll said.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins used one big play after another to increase the score and add insult to injury with one big hit after another.
After Jones left, Taylor came on for the final 12 minutes and would become the starter if Jones had to miss the game. Regardless of who plays center, the Giants are the opposite of an offensive juggernaut.
The Giants have not scored a first-quarter touchdown in any of their past 12 games dating back to last season.
To put this into perspective: Miami scored more points in the first quarter on Sunday (seven points) than the Giants have scored in the past 12 first quarters (six points).
Now they may not have a starter. From bad to worse, that’s it.
“We’ve had some physical games with physical defenses,” Jones said. “We all feel that way. This is football. Part of the game.”
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