In the offseason, many considered Brian Daboll to be the hot head coaching candidate. After helping Josh Allen become one of the more successful quarterback development stories of all time as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, Daboll probably could’ve had his pick of the litter of any of the various sideline openings. The hotshot offensive mind chose the Giants, where he reunited with former Bills Assistant GM Joe Schoen.
The early results for this pair of old friends in New York have been spectacular. On a Giants team that was supposed to be rebuilding (and probably still is), this might surprise onlookers around the NFL. For Daboll, the football maverick, and his crew of upstarts: It’s precisely where they expected to be as they get to face the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
In Week 1, seemingly against all odds, Daboll’s underdog Giants upset last year’s AFC No. 1 seed, the Titans, in a 21-20 thriller that featured a bevy of turning points:
Great to have Sterling Shepard back. Here's his 65 yard touchdown pic.twitter.com/rG5gRDMYwX
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) September 12, 2022
The ensuing week, while an uglier affair, the G-Men handled their business by suffocating Baker Mayfield and the Panthers to get themselves 2-0. Uh, what?
Yes, the Giants, with Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback — a player pundits have (somewhat understandably) turned into a laughingstock for being a Human Football Folly through his first three seasons — are one of the only handful of undefeated teams remaining in 2022.
How on Earth did this happen? Is it even sustainable? Are we to really believe in what the Giants are capable of this year and beyond? The answers to those latter fateful questions are all an emphatic yes. And the reason is simple: Daboll is one heck of a football coach.
The Giants aren’t necessarily near any top efficiency performance markers through two games (though that Wink Martindale defense is ascending). Nor do they have an elite roster of skill playmakers and bulldogs in the trenches. However, what they haven’t done might be what’s most noteworthy.
From 2019 to 2021, New York turned the ball over an astounding 85 times. They not only led the league with 30 giveaways last year, but they were also the league leaders in turnovers over the last three seasons. Much of that came on the arm (and off the arm) of Jones, who threw 30 picks and lost 37 fumbles (!) for the Giants in his first three seasons in the NFL. Through two games in 2022, Jones has just two turnovers.
Now the quarterback isn’t exactly lighting it up with 364 passing yards, three touchdowns, and 6.6 yards per attempt so far. But, and I had to verify this, his two-game minimal turnover stretch is one of the cleanest of Jones’ career. He’s only ever gone two consecutive games once — during a midseason 2020 stretch — without a giveaway. Should Jones log a clean sheet against Dallas, he’ll notch, for him, a worthy milestone. And it’ll be a credit to Daboll’s no B.S. coaching style.
Beyond the X’s and O’s and mistake-free football, what stands out to me most about Daboll’s job thus far is how he’s gotten the Giants to buy in and how it’s always “the best man up.”
Against the Panthers, $72 million receiver Kenny Golladay played just two snaps. That appeared to irk the wideout when he said he was “confused” by his role. In response, Daboll told reporters he actually appreciated Golladay’s emotion. Huh?
Fixing this. Daboll meant more like glad that Golladay is upset he didn’t play https://t.co/6kcje63o4L
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) September 22, 2022
If that’s the sort of mentality Daboll will instill in his ragtag group — who will seemingly have to earn everything — then it feels like the Giants are in an incredible spot. They have a football sorcerer of coach who can conjure the magic that makes a chicken salad out of, well, you know.
What’s even better, as Daboll told NBC Sports, he has New York playing fearless because he’s fearless himself:
“The one thing I’ve said to them is, ‘I’ve been called a lot of things in my life. But I can guarantee you the one thing you’ll never call me is afraid.’”
The pick: Giants 24, Cowboys 20
Dallas backup Cooper Rush caught the Bengals off guard last week. The Giants will be more prepared for a passer running a vanilla scheme this time around. Look for a few timely plays from the New York defense and, of course, Jones to close out a tight win.
