Daniel Jones’ first playoff game was a success, and it may have been thanks in part to his predecessor.
On the final ManningCast of the season during Monday’s Bucs-Cowboys Wild Card Game, Eli Manning revealed that Jones sought him out prior to the game, and he gave DJ “a little pep talk.”
"I never reach out to Daniel. I told him, 'I'm always a resource for you. I'm here for you. I'm not going to be the annoying guy like calling you and telling you what you should do or shouldn't,'" Manning said. “But he reached out and was kind of like, 'Hey, first playoff game. Anything I need to know about?' And I said, 'Just play the way you've been playing. You don't all of a sudden get to the playoffs and say I've got to try to change something or do something new.' I said, 'You've been playing great all year.'"
Manning said Jones asked about the speed of the game, as well, to which Eli had a stoic response.
“I was like, ‘That's just something people say because they've got to say something,'" Manning said. "The speed's the same. No one all of a sudden gets faster all of a sudden for this game. It's just if people are playing harder, you're going to play harder. If you have a third-and-five, you're going to lay out for that first down. People are just going to the whistle."
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In the end, Jones made history, as he became the first quarterback in NFL postseason history with at least 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and 70 rushing yards in a game, and Eli said that was ‘fun to watch.’
“It was fun to watch that the other day, watch the Giants. And I'm excited for him,” Eli said. “He's worked his tail off his last few years, and I'm excited for him to get that win."
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