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Daniel Jones proves he’s right choice to be Giants’ franchise QB

You can go ahead and picture it now — Daniel Jones leading the Giants down the field in the Super Bowl. Not this year, but maybe at some point in the not-too-distant future. 

An absurd vision moved more than a few yards closer to reality Sunday, when a quarterback who had been mocked on arrival as just another first-round reach inspired the home fans to stand and chant his name. By playing with reckless abandon in this 38-10 shredding of the Colts, Jones cleared the first two hurdles in the making of a potential championship quarterback in the New York market. 

1) He earned the respect and affection of a tough crowd. 

2) He led his team to the playoffs. 

Near the end of Year 4, after so much conspired against him in Years 1, 2 and 3, Jones actually made MetLife Stadium feel like his own. Reborn under rookie head coach Brian Daboll, Jones played with the kind of defiance that suggested he was saying a big, loud “F you” to everyone who doubted him. 

He threw for two scores, ran for two scores and absorbed a ton of unnecessary hits to the body and head while barreling through the Colts for 91 rushing yards. Jones was raging against the ticket-holders and columnists and talking electronic heads who had ripped him — and rightfully so at times — for being a turnover machine, a slow reader of defenses and a guy who couldn’t stay out of the trainer’s room or tub. 

Daniel Jones passes during the Giants' win over the Colts on Jan. 1.
Daniel Jones passes during the Giants’ win over the Colts on Jan. 1.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

Though he’d never, ever admit it for public consumption, Jones was also raging against the employers (Daboll, new general manager Joe Schoen, old co-owner John Mara) who decided against picking up his $22.4 million fifth-year option. 

On one fourth-quarter drive alone, Jones stiff-armed Bobby Okereke to the ground and rebounded from the linebacker’s personal foul (Jones’s helmet bounced off the turf) to crash through Okereke at the end of a 10-yard touchdown run. This was a Duke grad taking a Stanford grad to the school of hard knocks. 

“Stressful,” said Giants receiver Darius Slayton of watching his quarterback play bully-ball. “I’d rather him slide, but I think he showed his toughness. He’s a real football player. He’s not a quarterback that sits in the pocket and sits above everybody. Stuff like that just shows you who he really is inside and what he’s willing to do to win.” 

Recalling bygone boos that rained down on Jones from the MetLife rafters, Slayton said he wanted to jump into the crowd and chant for the quarterback himself. It was that kind of festive day in Jersey. Daboll pulled Jones in the middle of the fourth quarter so the fans could tell the sixth overall pick from the 2019 draft exactly how they feel about him now that he’s a healthy, productive winner at last. 

“He’s such a great teammate, and a great person, just happy for him,” Mara said when it was over. “You draft him as high as we drafted him, we got a lot of criticism. He took a lot of criticism. And to see him coming into his own is very gratifying for us.” 

Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones proved he must be the Giants’ long-term QB.
Robert Sabo for the NY POST

Yes, Mara will be signing Jones to a new contract this offseason. The co-owner was among the first big believers, telling The Post before last season that he saw Jones as a future Super Bowl champ. “I can say that without any hesitation,” Mara said. Asked if he thought his guy could match the two Super Bowl titles claimed by his predecessor, Eli Manning, Mara responded, “I don’t see why not, if we put the right pieces around him.” 

A lot of pieces are still required. The Giants’ top receivers against the Colts, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins, each had more than 200 players picked before them in their respective drafts. There are reasons why the Giants missed the playoffs five straight years, and went 43 straight games without scoring at least 30 points. 

But this wasn’t a day to fret over unfilled holes. Daboll said he gave Jones his curtain-call opportunity “because I thought he earned it,” and truer words couldn’t be spoken. Staying on brand, the quarterback rejected multiple chances to bask in the glow of the fans’ ovation, other than to say he was “grateful, really appreciative of their support for me personally, and for our team.” He did say the chant “beats the alternative for sure” and did slip for a moment when asked if he’d savor this victory more than others. “Yeah I will,” Jones responded, before pivoting to his standard team-centric messaging. 

Daniel Jones takes a hit during the Giants' win over the Colts on Jan. 1.
Daniel Jones takes a hit during the Giants’ win over the Colts on Jan. 1.
Robert Sabo for the NY POST

Other Giants said what the quarterback would not. His running mate, Saquon Barkley, called the chant “a beautiful thing,” called Jones “the toughest quarterback in the league,” and called the idea that his friend was oblivious to past criticism nonsense. “He heard what everyone had to say,” Barkley said. 

And Jones responded. He jogged off the field with his index finger in the air, and later announced in the locker room (to Daboll’s surprise) that the Giants would take the next two days off. 

Daniel Jones is The Man now. “When you have that guy at the quarterback position,” Barkley said, “you believe you can win any game.” 

Including the biggest game, at a time and place to be named later.

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