NEW YORK GIANTS quarterback Daniel Jones covered up his putt life operating again Saquon Barkley stood within sight.

They had been at the 14th hollow at Mountain Ridge Nation Membership in West Caldwell, Unused Jersey, and Barkley’s patented chirping was once best getting louder.

The 2 similar buddies and Giants teammates had been on opposing groups on this fit, and Barkley’s tandem was once 4 up with 5 left to play games. This was once a probability to similar it out.

This is till Jones’ tee shot landed 40 ft from the cup at the par-3, and he coolly sank the uphill birdie putt to manage his crew to victory at the hollow, and in the long run the fit.

Jones slightly even blinked nearest the putt.

“I’m a good money putter,” Jones informed ESPN with a snicker lately when requested how he handles force.

Jones now wishes to seek out that cash stroke at the soccer garden. That’s the expectancy for any person who signed a four-year, $160 million guarantee this offseason. Within the early going, the go back on funding has been underwhelming.

He entered Life 4 twenty second in QBR life the Giants sat at 1-2 with the fewest issues scored (43) within the NFC. Jones and the Unused York offense may just infrequently perform in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, and performed one excellent part in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals.

The cash best makes him a larger goal.

“A lot of people who make all that money don’t even deserve it,” 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw stated nearest a 30-12 drubbing of Jones and the Giants.

Greenlaw was once one in all a number of Niners to pull swipes on the quarterback nearest the sport.

“Yeah, I guess some people are like that where they feel the need to do that,” Jones stated. “That’s fine. That’s part of it.”

The force remainder on Jones’ shoulders when the Giants host the Seattle Seahawks on “Monday Night Football” (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Giants want the win making an allowance for the following highway commute comprises matchups with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Expenses.

Jones — who’s 1-11 as a starter in high day — will nearly without a doubt be with out Barkley (ankle) for a moment directly contest, a grand activity making an allowance for the Giants pressed for time for 29 yards on 11 carries in opposition to the 49ers in his absence within the Sept. 21 loss.

IT TOOK ONLY a couple of seconds nearest NFL commissioner Roger Goodell known as Jones’ title because the Deny. 6 total pick out within the 2019 draft for the previous Duke celebrity to appreciate the expectancies and force concerned with taking part in quarterback for the Giants.

“As soon as I got drafted you do media for two hours after, and I hadn’t experienced anything like that,” Jones stated.

“It’s a whole different ballgame coming from college football to the NFL and certainly a different ballgame in New York.”

Upload to that the brandnew guarantee, and all of sudden the ones tight-window throws turn out to be much more scrutinized. When he misses, as he did within the season-opening 40-0 loss to the Cowboys, a contest through which Jones’ QBR was once 8.2, the grievance may not be hardened to seek out.

“That stuff is going to happen regardless,” extensive receiver Sterling Shepard stated. “It don’t matter. Nobody in here gives a s— about all the outside stuff or what the outside thinks because they don’t know what it’s like to be in this position. It doesn’t make no sense to listen to that stuff.”

Jones normally doesn’t. He does a excellent activity of sheltering himself from the out of doors international. In reality, he as soon as informed ESPN he infrequently knew there was once a firestorm happening out of doors the construction until it was once relayed to him by means of his mom.

And when he does know, he has discovered a relaxed regimen that is helping him cope. Jones talks with a sports activities psychologist weekly, and makes use of his nation as an extra sounding board. He additionally does yoga steadily.

Jones, 26, stated he does all of it to get “perspective from people I trust and different things to think about that I don’t think of immediately.”

The fifth-year quarterback additionally infrequently makes use of social media — he has publish 3 posts on X this 12 months — and his in-season involvement on Instagram is an occasional advert or promotion.

“There is going to be a story somehow, some way,” Barkley stated. “He’s the quarterback of the New York Giants. It’s tough when it comes to the media side of it. The way that he is, anyone who knows Daniel closely or is just able to observe him from the outside, the type of person he is, his work ethic, it’s built him for the moment.”

Jones made immense strides extreme 12 months underneath schoolmaster Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. He completed 6th in QBR at 62.9 nearest by no means in the past coming similar to cracking the govern 10. He carried out particularly neatly unwell the stretch, with 9 landing passes and simply 3 interceptions within the ultimate 8 video games of the ordinary season sooner than a dominant efficiency within the wild-card spherical.

It’s why the Giants have put a dozen on Jones’ plate this season.

“He’s very consistent in his approach, really since I’ve been here,” Daboll stated. “Whether it’s in OTAs, the first game of the season, the Monday night game, he’s in here early, he’s meeting with players. He’s a very composed individual. He doesn’t get high. He doesn’t get low. He’s very steady. He focuses on the things he can work on and meets quite a bit with the other players as well.”

The cash best provides to the equation. Jones is assured $82 million over the primary two years of the trade in and performs in one of the vital NFL’s greatest markets.

“He doesn’t need to apologize that he had his best year in a time when they needed to redo [his contract],” stated former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who sponsored up Eli Manning at the Giants from 2005 to ’07. “That is not your fault. You don’t need to apologize for that. There is no question [the money] is part of [the criticism], but I would also argue for him to play the way he did last year, not everyone can do that.”

JONES HAD PERHAPS the most efficient contest of his occupation in extreme season’s wild-card spherical when the force was once at its easiest. He turned into the primary quarterback in NFL historical past to report 300-plus passing yards, 2-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus dashing yards in a playoff contest.

The Giants beat the Vikings 31-24 that generation for his or her first postseason win in over a decade. Jones went 24-for-35 passing for 301 yards and two touchdowns, along with dashing 17 occasions for 78 yards. It helped him land that immense guarantee, which now has him attach for tenth amongst highest-paid quarterbacks, averaging $40 million in step with season.

Jones is well the highest-paid participant at the Giants, so when issues journey evil, he’s the lightning rod.

“Nah, man, at this point, we’ve done been through it all,” extensive receiver Darius Slayton stated. “[The 40-0 season-opening loss to the Cowboys] was pretty bad but, s—, 4-12 [in 2021] was pretty bad. We’ve been through a lot at this point, and for him, he takes it all in stride.”

Jones’ first occupation get started in 2019 featured a dramatic comeback in Tampa Bay. The Giants trailed by means of 18 issues and he ran for the game-winning landing with 1:16 extra. It was once on that force that Jones, generally soft-spoken, stepped into the huddle and declared “Let’s f—ing score.”

Giants fanatics is also echoing that sentiment.

Next the shutout loss to the Cowboys, Jones and the Giants confronted a 20-point halftime inadequency in opposition to the Cardinals. The ones 60 issues the Giants allowed sooner than scoring their first level of the season had been the second-most unanswered issues to start out a season for the reason that 1970 merger, and probably the most for the reason that 1978 Baltimore Colts (86).

Jones went 17-of-21 passing for 259 yards and two passing touchdowns life including 8 rushes for 58 yards and any other landing in the second one part isolated in opposition to Arizona. He struggled simply days after on Thursday night time, throwing for 137 yards with an interception in opposition to the 49ers.

That is the place the comps to the even-keeled Manning take a look at.

“I feel like there are so many opportunities in the NFL to ride the roller coaster if you want to, and I feel like he just refuses to get on it,” tight finish Darren Waller stated. “If you look at, we’re like, what, 60-0 in our first six quarters? There are turnovers, there’s drives that aren’t getting there, and it’s just like, you don’t see him wearing it, you don’t see him pointing at other guys or getting mad on the sidelines. It’s just eventually as long as we keep plugging into this process and trying to do things the right way, it’s going to turn for us.

“And that power paid off [in Arizona], and it’s one thing that you’ll be able to apply.”

With more money comes the reality that there is additional responsibility and pressure on the quarterback. All of a sudden, in the salary cap league, where Jones takes up 7% of the cap this year and a projected 18% next year, there becomes less money to go around for the supporting cast.

Jones has to play well in order for the Giants to win. That was evident once again in the first three games of the season.

“Power putts, at the soccer garden, capturing separate throws, it doesn’t matter what, it’s his on a regular basis pace, his same old,” Barkley said. “He’s constructed for anything else.”