Daniel Jones appeared to tweak his ankle on a first down sack late in the third, and ended up handing off to Saquon Barkley twice before a Giants field goal. And, when Big Blue came back out on offense after a Bears three-and-out, Tyrod Taylor was at the helm of the offense for the first time.
Unfortunately, on his second drive, Taylor was hit hard while scrambling, which forced him out of the game midway through the fourth and brought Jones back in…as a bit of a decoy in the Wildcat?
“I knew I was going back in,” Jones said, although he only took one snap before it became the Wildcat show. “I knew we’d be creative in our scheme to keep it moving forward, but I felt good about going back in.”
“Credit to DJ for coming back in the game; he’s a tough you-know-what, nothing but respect for him for coming back in and fighting for his team,” Saquon Barkley added. “Shows you the type of player he is.”
Jones wanted to go back in after the drive where he was hurt, but said that he knew based on how the game was going, it was best to take a break and let Taylor go in.
But, when that plan got foiled, well…
“When I saw Tyrod go down, I kind of realized I was up next, I’m the quarterback,” Barkley said. “I just tried my best to read things; it’s not that hard I guess, but I tried my best, and think I made the right reads, but we were able to move down the field and get some points.”
"Those were plays we had in the gameplan. I just thought those were the right thing to use at that particular time based on where Daniel was, and then we put a couple of other ones in on the sideline," said head coach Brian Daboll. "Barkley's been ballhandling since training camp, not for this reason necessarily, just because it's part of our package that we have. Just thought that was the best thing to do."
The Wildcat isn’t foreign to the Giants, as Barkley noted it’s something they practice, and even brought out in one package against Carolina. It’s one thing, however, to do it willingly, and another to have to go to it in the fourth quarter of a tight game due to injuries – but the Giants got it down.
“You don’t want to be in that situation, but the way the coaches reacted and brought us in – you felt like a little kid in your backyard playing football,” Barkley said. “Coach was drawing it up like you’re eight years old playing with your friends, like you’re the quarterback and just drawing it up. We have some really talented backs and a great offensive line, and we were able to get the gritty runs and have a little success with it.”
The Giants did not attempt another pass once Jones returned, either handing it off or having Barkley take direct snaps on their final 11 offensive plays – although Daboll thought he could have thrown if needed. Either way, it was a bit weird for Jones to be the green dot, calling the plays and then being mostly a decoy.
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“It was a little bit different for us and we had to get creative with some of those calls,” Jones said, “but I thought coach did a great job of scheming those plays up and giving us a chance to move the ball down the field.
And credit to Barkley, who had 26 of his 146 rushing yards in that final stretch, 18 on the drive that should’ve ended in a game-icing field goal.
“I’ve said it since OTAs: 26 is a really good football player,” said Daboll.
Jones hasn’t gotten an official diagnosis on his ankle injury, which is reported to be a high ankle sprain, and he’ll see how he feels throughout the week. Taylor, meanwhile, is in concussion protocol, so it’s likely that Davis Webb will end up being elevated from the practice squad for next week’s game in London against Green Bay.
And if he’s thrust into things? Well, it’s next man up for the Giants, who continue to find a way even as they’ve lost numerous offensive weapons already this season.
"I think the players played good when it counted the most. Give all the credit to the players," Daboll said about the game and the 3-1 start in general. “I think the assistants and coordinators are doing a good job of putting them in position, and the guys are playing hard for 60 minutes.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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