Jones era dawns as Giants visit Bucs
It's a new era in New York.
For every game except one since Nov. 21, 2001, Eli Manning had been the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. But this Sunday against the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a new signal-caller will be under center.
Daniel Jones, the rookie quarterback selected sixth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, will start this Sunday and going forward.
"We do everything we can to win football games, and at this point, we feel like he's the guy we want to move forward with," head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters Wednesday. "... I think it was just my gut that it was time to make that move."
In the first two games of the season, Manning, 38, was 56 of 89 for 556 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 78.7. New York (0-2) lost both games by multiple touchdowns.
In his 15-plus seasons as the starting quarterback of the Giants, Manning led the team to two Super Bowl victories. However, New York has made the playoffs only once since winning Super Bowl XLVI and has gone 8-26 since the start of 2017.
Last November, Manning was 17 of 18 for 231 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-35 Giants win over Tampa Bay in East Rutherford, N.J.
Jones might be without his two of his starting wide receivers. Sterling Shepard and Cody Latimer are both dealing with concussions. Latimer did not participate in practice Wednesday and Shepard, who missed last week, was limited.
"I feel ready, and I'm certainly looking forward to the opportunity," Jones said.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said the biggest difference between defending against Manning and Jones is that Jones is much more mobile.
"They are not going to change what they are doing. It's Pat's offense, he's just going to run it," Arians said. "For us, it's trying to stop (running back) Saquon (Barkley) and force (Jones) to throw the ball."
Tampa Bay (1-1) will have extra rest heading into the contest after beating the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night during Week 2.
Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett had a standout performance in the game, sacking Panthers quarterback Cam Newton three times, all in the third quarter, and hitting him a fourth time. On Wednesday, he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
"I got in a zone, and after the first one I just started doing moves, and all of my moves started working," Barrett said. "They kept working throughout the game. It just felt good. It was just an amazing feeling.
"I am going to try to replicate it, but I am not going to make it a goal to do that. I am just going to play the game and let it come to me."
Barrett was limited in practice Wednesday due to a groin injury.
After Sunday, the Buccaneers won't play at Raymond James Stadium again until Nov. 10, with four road games, a "home" game against the Carolina Panthers in London and a bye week filling the interim.
"All the wins at home are important. I never look forward," Arians said. "We want to win September, and we didn't do a very good job of finishing the game at home last time, so we need to finish the game at home this time."
--Field Level Media
