New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones left Sunday’s 31-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins with a neck injury after a high-speed sack from behind by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel.
Buy Giants TicketsAndrew Van Ginkel sacks Daniel Jones by himself 👏pic.twitter.com/bVm3F0sd8S
— Dolphins Nation (@DolphinNationCP) October 8, 2023
Jones headed to the locker room under his own power but was clearly in pain. Giant fans began to think the worst. Jones missed the final six games of the 2021 season with a neck injury.
NFL Network inside Ian Rapoport reports that Jones will have an MRI on Monday but the injury is not believed to be as serious as the 2021 one.
“I feel fine,” Jones said after the game. “I think I’m certainly in some pain, physical game. So I’ll meet with the doctors and trainers and then go from there. It’s tough to say for sure. I’ve certainly dealt with a similar issue…I can just tell you my neck is sore.”
It was only a matter of time before Jones got hit and didn’t get up. The Giants lead the NFL in sacks allowed (30) and Jones and backup Tyrod Taylor took a total of 14 hits on Sunday.
Head coach Brian Daboll looked a little shell-shocked after another game in which his team was completely steamrolled. He had few answers when it came to Jones’ condition or how to protect him going forward.
“Got hit pretty good. He’s been getting hit quite a bit,” said Daboll, in what could be the biggest understatement of his coaching career.
He was asked how untenable is it for the quarterback to keep getting hit so much at this point.
“Yeah, you don’t want that. Affecting the quarterback plays an important role in the game, and we got to figure out a way to protect him better,” he said. “I mean, we got to do a better job. Just all the way around.”
The Giants’ pass protection has been historically bad this season as outlined by ESPN Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan.
Giants haven’t scored offensive TD in 145 minutes. That’s almost 2.5 games.
QB Daniel Jones pressured on 44% of dropbacks Sunday. Has been pressured 81 times this season, 3rd-most by any player through 5 games since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.
18 sacks allowed over last 2 games, most by any team in 2-game span since ’86 Eagles
Ouch. The Giants should be getting All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and center John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) back soon which will help. So will the return of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), who has missed three games — all losses.
