Players like wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins and running back Saquon Barkey lined up to combine for 214 total yards and three TDs, and Jones called out countless position groups after the 31-24 win, but the quarterback, who previously had an option for the fifth year The season undoubtedly deserves the honor of player of the game.
Jones found success in the air and on the ground early and often. In the second half, he joined five other quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era in having 200+ passing yards, two passing TDs, and 70+ rushing yards in a playoff game. per NFL Research. By the final whistle, he surpassed his four peers by becoming the first QB in postseason history to eclipse 300 passing yards along with those accolades.
“I just felt it as the game developed and I took some of those opportunities,” Jones said of his ongoing game success. “I thought the guys up front did a really good job with the pass rush and opening up some lanes. You deserve a lot of credit.”
The Giants needed every bit of the 379 yards Jones accounted for. After the Vikings scored on the opening run, New York went 17 unanswered. The team led 17-7 at halftime and 24-14 after their first possession in the third quarter, but the tenacious Vikings kept responding and at one point the game tied a 24-24 knot a few minutes into the fourth quarter .
Jones then responded again with the game-winning 67-yard touchdown drive, which was only the Giants’ fifth-longest possession of the game. Two games before Barkley would eventually pot for New York, Jones converted a fourth and one from the 7-yard line. He would do the same with another QB sneak in midfield on the following drive to shift the chains and force Minnesota to waste all of their timeouts with just three minutes remaining.
“We tried,” Daboll said of the first quarter-down game, which came with the game still tied. “We wanted to try to win the game. We had faith in Daniel moving the stack. And I could have lived with the consequences.”
Jones gave the Giants the confidence they needed to make those bold decisions and the game they needed to upset the Vikings in their first playoff appearance since 2016, when Eli Manning was still in town.
“We’re excited,” Jones told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero of the long-awaited postseason win for Big Blue. “You know, we’re moving on. We still have a lot to do. So far it has been fun.”
If the Giants continue, they have to go through the No. 1 Seed Eagles next weekend. The Giants’ newest quarterback to win the playoffs needs a worthy encore to do so.