EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Daniel Jones continues to perform in territory reached by few rookie quarterbacks in NFL history.
On Sunday in Detroit, Jones completed 28 of 41 passes for 322 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Jones became just the second rookie quarterback ever to avoid an interception while throwing for at least 300 yards and four scores. The first was Tennessee's Marcus Mariota, who on Nov. 8, 2015, had a 371-4-0 line in a 34-28 victory in New Orleans.
In his starting debut at Tampa Bay on Sept. 22, Jones passed for 366 yards, two touchdowns and no picks in a 32-31 comeback triumph against the Buccaneers. He joined Dallas' Dak Prescott (2016) as the only rookie quarterbacks in history with two games of 300+ yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Also on Sunday, Jacksonville rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew passed for 279 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Jaguars' 29-15 win over the Jets. With Minshew and Jones, Week 8 was just the second week in NFL history in which two rookie quarterbacks each passed for at least three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the same week, joining Week 16 of the 2018 season (the Jets' quarterback Sam Darnold and Cleveland's Baker Mayfield).
Jones threw for 10 touchdowns in his first six starts. No, that is not the franchise record. In 1948, Charlie Conerly's first six starts were highlighted by 14 touchdown passes – the majority of his career-high total of 22. Conerly played 14 years for the Giants and never threw for more than 17 scores after his debut season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jones and Conerly are the only quarterbacks in Giants history to throw at least 10 touchdown passes through their first six starts.
Jones was the first rookie quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in a game since Mayfield on Nov. 25, 2018 at Cincinnati.
Jones is the third quarterback in two seasons to a) throw at least 10 touchdown passes in his first six starts, and b) throw for at least one score in each of those six games. In 2018, Mayfield and San Francisco's Nick Mullens accomplished the feat. Mayfield threw for at least one score in each of his first 17 starts spanning the 2018-19 seasons.
Jones isn't just using his arm to move the ball. He is second on the team with 134 rushing yards, the highest single-season total by a Giants quarterback since Kent Graham had 138 in 1998. Jones has a way to go to set the franchise record for rushing yards by a quarterback. In 1934, Harry Newman ran for 483 yards.
Jones has been particularly proficient on third down, where his 100.4 passer rating ranks ninth in the NFL and first among the three rookies (including Minshew and Kyler Murray) who are listed in the NFL's weekly statistics. Jones' third-down numbers include 35 completions in 55 attempts (63.6%) for 378 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
*The 22-year-old Jones is part of an NFL-wide trend toward successful young quarterbacks.
Through the season's first eight weeks, 99 of 121 games (81.8%) have featured at least one quarterback under the age of 27, the most at this point in a season in league history. Those quarterbacks have started 130 games and recorded 69 wins (53.1%), both the most starts and wins by quarterbacks under the age of 27 through the first eight weeks of a season since the 1970 merger.
*The Giants' home game against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday will feature two of the NFL's best running backs in Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott. Since entering the NFL in 2018, Barkley leads the league with 16 games of at least 100 scrimmage yards (in 21 games played). Elliott's 15 such games (in 22 outings) ties him for second with Carolina's Christian McCaffrey in that span.
*Cornerback Janoris Jenkins is second in the NFL with four interceptions (New England's Devin McCourty has five). That ties the career high Jenkins set as a rookie with St. Louis in 2012.
*The Giants' 24 first downs in Detroit tied for the team's second-highest total in Pat Shurmur's two seasons as head coach. Each of the three highest totals have come this season: 25 at Dallas on Kickoff Weekend, and 24 at Detroit and vs. Washington on Sept. 29.
*Three different Giants have scored two touchdowns in a game this season, and each took a different route to achieve the coveted double. Jones ran for two scores (each from seven yards out) at Tampa Bay. Wayne Gallman scored on both a rush (one yard) and reception (six yards) vs. Washington. And rookie wideout Darius Slayton scored on a pair of touchdown receptions, from 22 and 28 yards, against the Lions.
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