How will Giants approach change with Tyrod Taylor starting?

The Giants hoped they had stabilized their quarterback position for the immediate future when they inked Daniel Jones to a four-year extension back in March. However, Jones and the Giants had some early season struggles and now his availability for the remainder of the season could be in question.

Entering this week, the hope was that Jones, who had missed his last two starts with a neck injury, could make his return in this Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets. However, the Giants confirmed on Friday that Jones -- who is yet to be cleared for contact – had been ruled out. Furthermore, head coach Brian Daboll refused to commit to Jones returning at all this season, although an ESPN report suggests Week 10 as a potential return date.

It is evident the Giants will take a more cautious approach with his recovery. If they had a few more wins, then there could be more urgency to bring Jones back, but the Giants have lost five of their first seven games and may be taking a longer-term view. For now, veteran Tyrod Taylor will start at least the next two games and possibly more.

Ironically, the Giants seem to have settled down since Jones has been out of the lineup, following a nightmare start to the season. The team had been blown out multiple times as they constantly fell behind early in games and was dealing with a number of injuries, especially on the offensive line.

There’s no doubt that the offensive line struggles affected Jones, who was dealing with constant pressure and sacked 28 times in five games, including 10 times against Seattle. By contrast, Jones was sacked just 22 times in 11 starts just two seasons ago. Behind a different group of starters every week, Jones was actually completing a career-best 68.9 percent of his passes, but his yards per attempt numbers were way down as he was forced to throw a lot of short passes.

Over the past two games as a starter, Taylor has only been sacked seven times and has been having more success than Jones at pushing the ball down the field. The Giants have 10 pass plays of 20 yards or more in those two games, just one less than Jones had managed in his five starts. While the Giants’ offense only put up 23 points in those two games, Taylor passed for a total of 479 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions as they beat the Commanders and almost beat the Buffalo Bills.

It could be that Taylor’s experience is the reason he’s had some short-term success despite these offensive line issues persisting. However, there are a few other variables that suggest he had slightly more favorable conditions to deal with than Jones.

One was the return of Saquon Barkley, who affects a defense’s ability to send pressure as a run threat and an outlet in the passing game, in addition to being able to make his own contributions as a pass blocker. Another was the insertion of veteran Justin Pugh into the starting lineup, which seems to have been a settling influence on an overmatched young group. Finally, some of their receivers have started to step up and make plays for the first time since the week two comeback against the Cardinals.

Could Taylor be good enough to get the Giants back into the postseason mix, starting with a win over the Jets to improve to 3-5 on Sunday? He has a respectable 27-26-1 record as a starter, although he hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2017. That was the only time he led a team to the postseason, and he struggled badly in a first round playoff loss, but at least he’s shown he can have some success when he has talent around him. He was 22-20 as a full-time starter for the Bills between 2015 and 2017.

Ironically, Daboll was hired as the Bills’ offensive coordinator soon after that postseason exit, but the Bills traded Taylor away a few months later so he never played for him until the Giants signed him last year. However, he’s been with the Giants long enough to have good scheme familiarity and chemistry with his pass catching options.

One of Taylor’s best traits is his low interception rate. He’s never thrown more than six in a season and had the lowest interception percentage in the NFL in his most recent season as a full-time starter. Avoiding turnovers in games like the one against their upcoming opponents, the Jets, who lack high-powered offenses, should help to keep the team competitive.

At 34 years old, Taylor likely doesn’t have the same kind of mobility that Jones brings to the table, but he’s always been a player who can avoid pressure, make throws on the run and keep the chains moving with his legs. He has rushed for 19 touchdowns in his career and already rushed for four first downs this season.

With two competitive games in a row, an offensive line that is gradually getting back to full health, a defense that has started to play better over the past few weeks and Barkley producing now he’s back, things might be looking up for the Giants. Ideally, they would have expected to have Jones in the lineup and making a push for a division title at this stage of the season, but if Taylor can build on his success in the past two games, perhaps the Giants can still turn their season around.