Since being drafted by the New York Giants in 2019, Daniel Jones has been the subject of public criticism. His first playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings could be the turning point in his career

Does he have the potential to be a franchise quarterback or is he just a poor copy of franchise icon Eli Manning? The fate of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones could be decided this weekend. The Minnesota Vikings await as opponents in Wild Card Weekend.

“This organisation has a long history of winning and success in the postseason,” the passer knows his responsibility: “For us as a group, it’s about being a part of this storied organisation with success.”

All the same, the Giants’ last major successes were some time ago. Jones was 14 years old the last time the franchise won a playoff game. Back in the 2011 season, the Giants even won the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.

After that, the franchise went downhill. Only once in the past eleven seasons did New York make the playoffs. That postseason visit was also six years ago now and promptly ended with a resounding 13-38 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Daniel Jones is a free agent after this season

Jones was expected to provide a fresh start when the Giants surprisingly picked him at No. 6 in the 2019 draft. His performance since then has been mixed. So much so that the Giants let him go into his fourth and final year of his contract in 2022 without pulling the fifth-year option.

Possibly a mistake?

In any case, Jones is playing the best season of his career under Brian Daboll, who only took over as head coach for the 2022 season. He threw for 3205 yards, has a quarterback rating of 92.5 and threw three times as many touchdowns (15) as interceptions (five).

Curiously, Jones is now the only first-round pick among the seven starting quarterbacks in the NFC, even though it is loaded with big-name passers like Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins.

In the AFC, however, all seven teams would be led by a first-round pick if Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) were fit.

Jones knows about the strong competition in the playoffs: “They’re all really good players, really good teams, really good offenses. We have confidence in our group. I have confidence in myself. But it’s about what we do as a team, what we do as a unit and what we accomplish together.”

Christmas the Giants lost to the Vikings

The dress rehearsal against the Vikings failed. On 24 December, the Giants lost 24:27 – by a field goal from 61 yards. This does not necessarily have to be a bad omen. Also in December, the Giants first played the Washington Commanders 20:20, only to win 20:12 two weeks later.

So the Giants are capable of improving – even against the Vikings?

“I think it’s a similar situation in that we’re playing each other twice in such close succession,” Jones said of the possible parallel. “I think there’s some experience we can gain and apply as we go forward. But of course every game is different. “

Only five quarterbacks won a playoff game with the Giants

Historically, the four-time Super Bowl winners make a strong playoff team. The Giants have played 32 playoff games in the Super Bowl era and won 20 of them. The downside: they have had 27 different starting quarterbacks in that time. Only five of them won a postseason game: Scott Brunner, Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler, Kerry Collins and Eli Manning.

Jones has a chance to join that list. The 25-year-old knows that the good performances from the regular season mean nothing now. “I think everyone knows where we are now,” he stressed, “We’re in the playoffs. We have the regular season behind us. If you lose, you go home.”

And Jones, in this case, to an uncertain future.