Giants’ Jones is the Colossus of Week 17

Great players save their best performances for the most critical moments of the season. That explains, in part, the number of great individual performances in Week 17 of the NFL regular season.

Amid all that glitz, one quarterback who did it all, through the air and on the ground, took home Colossus of the Week honors:

Daniel Jones, quarterback, New York Giants.
The Giants had not qualified for the postseason since the 2016 season. In the 2019 NFL Draft, they selected Daniel Jones in the first round, hoping he could become their quarterback of the future.

Jones didn’t offer much certainty in his first few seasons with New York. Today, those doubts seem to be dispelled, with reports that the Giants want to extend Jones’ contract, and that of running back Saquon Barkley, after qualifying for the playoffs with a brilliant close to what has been an outstanding campaign.

Jones completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 177 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also led the Giants on the ground with 11 carries for 91 yards and two more touchdowns.

With those numbers, Jones led the Giants’ 38-10 thrashing of the Indianapolis Colts, mathematically securing their passport to the postseason.

Flying under the radar, Jones has become one of the NFL’s top storylines in 2022, along with that of rookie head coach Brian Daboll. Perhaps, Jones’ role as a quarterback of the future isn’t exactly what the Giants envisioned when they selected him out of Duke, but 2022 has confirmed that the New York Islanders can win with him.

What remains is to find out how far they can win with him, and the first test comes in the upcoming playoffs.