TAMPA, FL, Sporting Alert – Daniel Jones accounted for four touchdowns and the New York Giants rallied from a double point deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Jones, replacing Eli Manning in the starting, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another two, including the go-ahead touchdown, as the Giants (1-2) erase a 28-10 halftime deficit to secure a 32-31 victory at Raymond James Stadium.
“You can start to see — and as you get to appreciate him as a player — there’s plenty of things he needs to do better,” said Giants coach Pat Shurmur.
“But as you get to — there’s certain things that I knew about this kid when we drafted him: He was tough, he was competitive, and in my opinion he’s a winner.
“Now, the rest of it is just pure quarterback stuff. And because of those first three things, that’s why he’s gonna have a chance moving forward.”
The rookie quarterback completed 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards with an interception and his seven-yard was touchdown run with just over a minute to play on fourth down gave New York the lead.
“We had a chance there at the end of the game. That’s all you can ask for,” said Jones.
“We kinda struggled to move the ball there at points and — just a great job, great job moving the ball down the field as a team. We got some guys open, and they made plays. So great job, loved the fight and loved the grit of this win.”
Evan Engram pulled down six of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Sterling Shepard also caught a pass for a score and finished with 100 yards in the air.
Darius Slayton caught three passes for 82 yards, while star running back Saquon Barkley was forced to leave the game with an ankle injury.
Barkley sprained his ankle late in the second quarter and needed support to get to the locker room. He was later was ruled out for the game.
Barkley has been seen in a boot and on crutches on the sideline. It is understood that the former Penn State star will spend some time on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Jameis Winston finished 23 of 37 for 380 yards and three touchdowns with an interception for Tampa Bay.
Mike Evans, who was unstoppable in the first half, finished with three touchdowns which all came before the halftime interval. He had eight catches for 190 yards for the Buccaneers (1-2).
The Giants offense produced a season-high 32 points on Sunday, while 312 of the 384 total yards on offense came in the air.
