Daniel Jones looking to flip the script on the prime time narrative

Daniel Jones knows more than he lets on. 

He is an admitted ignorer of social media, and if he was a race horse, he would wear blinders as he settled into the starting gate.

He keeps distractions at bay, whenever possible.

But he is not oblivious. 

Last week, when he completed a 41-yard pass to Darius Slayton in Seattle, he knew that flew in the face of the statistics that backed up the narrative that he was having difficulty connecting on the long ball this season. 

“I think, yeah, you know, there is a storyline I guess there,” he said, smiling, after the Giants beat the Seahawks, 29-20. 

Yes, there was a storyline there.

There are plenty of storylines attached to the six-year partnership of Daniel Jones and the New York Football Giants.

Another one of them rears its ugly head Sunday night against the desperate Bengals (1-4) at MetLife Stadium, as Jones takes the field lugging with him a record of almost total futility in these situations. 

This will be the 16th game Jones has played in prime time.

He is 1-14 in the previous 15, meaning the national television viewership tunes in and almost always watches Jones and the Giants lose.

Sure, there are mitigating circumstances inherent in such a dismal record.

Yes, the Giants were favored in just one of those 15 games. 

Still … this is a storyline in need of a different ending. 

“You look at the past, over the years, we haven’t won enough, period,” Jones said. “So, to say prime time or not, I think we got to win. I’m confident. I’m excited for the opportunity. I think we all are.” 

The last time the Giants ventured into prime time, they came up short to the Cowboys, 20-15, in Week 3.

Jones was not the reason his team lost, but the offense failed to muster a touchdown, and the quarterback bears the brunt of the responsibility when a “Do Not Enter” sign is affixed to the goal line.

It was another loss at home for Jones and the Giants, and that is another storyline that must be extinguished for this team, sitting at 2-3, to be taken seriously. 

The Giants are 2-1 on the road this season and 0-2 at MetLife Stadium.

Jones in his career is 12-19-1 in 32 home games and 12-21-0 in 33 road games.

At home, he has thrown 27 touchdown passes and 29 interceptions and his passer rating is 78.7.

On the road, he has 41 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions for a passer rating of 91.8. 

These splits are stupifying. Jones said he has not noticed. 

“No, I haven’t seen that,” he said. “But look, I think the football field is the same ,and it’s about going out and playing well, regardless of where you are. So, I’m excited to get out there. It should be an awesome atmosphere for football.” 

Should it be?

Yes, the Giants are coming off a win on the road, and there is some optimism about how the trajectory their season could go.

There is also the specter of the grim inevitability that all it takes is a few three-and-outs or sacks or a costly interception for the home fans to announce their displeasure.

There is a school of thought that Jones is more comfortable playing away from all this. 

“I’m excited to play at home,” he said. 

Incredibly, the paying customers have not seen Jones lead a touchdown drive since the final game of the 2022 season.

He failed to do so in losses in 2023 to the Cowboys and Seahawks before he tore his ACL.

He failed to do so in home losses this season to the Vikings and Cowboys.

The job will not be any easier this time around, with star rookie receiver Malik Nabers missing his second straight game in concussion protocol and starting running back Devin Singletary not fully healed from a strained groin. 

What does it say that the Giants, coming off an impressive upset victory in Seattle — a notoriously tough place to play — are 3.5-point underdogs, at home, to a Bengals team that has lost four of its first five games, with the lone victory coming against the Panthers, generally acknowledged as the worst team in the league? 

It says that few believe the Giants will win wherever they are when they play under the lights. 

“We want to win every game and play well every game,” Jones said. “It doesn’t change when it is or where it is.” 

History says it does.