If it is not one type of pressure on Daniel Jones, it’s the other.
In an ironic twist given his career spent as a tackling dummy behind poor offensive lines, Jones’ best path to quieting speculation about his tenuous job security might be to lean into the veteran protection affording him the time to complete 67.6 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, one interception and a 95.8 quarterback rating over the last three games.
“Experience can play a key factor in that, but also we just really care about keeping Daniel upright,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “We know the cleaner we keep him, the more confident he’s going to be in the pocket and the more he’ll be able to do what we know he can do. We know that’s a big thing for him — creating that trust with him and giving him the time he needs.”
Jones has been pressured on a career-low 34.6 percent of his dropbacks in 2024, according to NextGenStats. That number was 40.6 percent or higher in four of his first five seasons.
The chance that the offense wins a play increases from 35 percent at Jones’ past pressure rate to 44 percent at the current rate.
“He obviously was taking more hits [last year] than he would have liked,” the newcomer Eluemunor said. “If you watch the last three weeks, he’s really been doing his thing. That’s because he’s starting to trust us more and more. That means a lot for us.”
The Giants’ previous four games against the Cowboys had been wrecked by an inability to block the pass rush (20 sacks). The unit allowed a franchise-record 85 sacks over 17 games last season.
Surrendering just one sack in last Thursday’s 20-15 loss to Dallas allowed the Giants to stay on schedule for five scoring drives (all field goals) despite the complete absence of a rushing attack (1.1 yards per carry) that highlighted where the remade offensive line still is weak.
The Giants need to establish the run to feed into Jones’ play-action pass effectiveness and boost the NFL’s No. 29-ranked scoring offense (15 points per game).
“Daniel has been really efficient,” left guard Jon Runyan Jr. said. “As an offensive line, we have to be more efficient in the run game. If we were able to do that [against the Cowboys], that would’ve helped us a lot more because he has been delivering the ball really well and receivers have been getting open.”
The improved pass protection will be tested Sunday in one of the NFL’s loudest, fan-crazed road environments in Seattle, when the Giants try to turn around a 1-3 start before calls for a quarterback change grow louder.
Seahawks opponents have ranked top-six across the league in false starts committed during three of the last six seasons of non-restricted attendance, per NFLPenalties.com.
The Seahawks are pressuring opposing quarterbacks on 37.3 percent of dropbacks (No. 9 in NFL) despite blitzing only 23.2 percent of the time (No. 20). One of the challenges for a melting-pot line with three starters acquired in free agency is forming the chemistry to succeed under circumstances such as using a silent snap count.
“We had two games straight going silent count,” Eluemunor said of playing at Washington and at Cleveland, “so we’re more adjusted to it now.”
The same five linemen have taken all 268 offensive snaps so far.
“Offensive line is one of those positions in the NFL where it’s like wine: It’s better over age,” Eluemunor said. “The older you are on the offensive line, it can be beneficial for you because you’re used to going against certain guys, you’re used to the speed of the game, bullets flying all over the place, all the plays that you got to know, knowing what the defensive line is going to do in front of you, how their positioning is going to affect how you’re going to run the ball or throw the ball and little aspects like that.”
If Jones can defeat his sped-up internal clock, the Giants might have a chance to push the ball downfield more often. Jones ranks No. 22 in air yards per completion (4.5) and is 2 of 13 completing passes traveling more than 20 yards in the air.
Jones said he thought the pass protection “was really good” against the Cowboys. So, why so many short, quick throws in front of the chains if the trust is there?
“That’s always part of our plan,” Jones said. “The way that a lot of those plays are designed is to have options underneath if the coverage dictates that’s where the ball is supposed to go. We trust our guys to catch and run.”
The Giants are protecting Jones better from pass rushers.
But, as the second quarter of the season begins, there’s only so much protection that can be offered without more winning.