Giants’ Daniel Jones predicted to outplay Saquon Barkley vs. Jaguars?
At least one analyst has suggested that New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones could outperform star running back Saquon Barkley if 5-1 Big Blue goes on to win at the 2-4 Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon.
For a piece published Friday, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan “boldly” predicted that Jones will throw for over 300 yards in Jacksonville.
“Jones has topped 200 yards passing just once this season,” Raanan explained. “But Jacksonville is allowing just 3.6 yards per rush, third best in the NFL. That will make the Giants unwillingly turn to their 31st-ranked passing game, and Jones will come through. Having rookie wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson will help.”
Jones connected with Robinson three times for 37 yards and a touchdown in last Sunday’s 24-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, stats show that Jones was the league’s top quarterback over the past three weeks in expected points added per drop-back. He’s 24th overall with 1,021 passing yards on the season but, per ESPN, is fourth with a 67.3% completion percentage and 14th with a 54.7 total QBR.
In short, the 25-year-old could be in for a big outing.
“This season the Giants have used play-action at the second-highest rate in the league (38%),” the ESPN article added. “That has benefited Jones significantly as he ranks second in the league in Total QBR and fourth in completion percentage on play-action passes.”
As for Barkley, The Football Database website points out that he still leads the entire NFL with 771 total yards from scrimmage. He is second with 616 rushing yards on a league-high 119 carries.
