Getty Tyrod Taylor could feature with the first-team offense when the Giants face the Bengals in preseason.
After a rough start to the season for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, some fans are calling on the team to bench him in favor of veteran and former Buffalo Bills signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.
Jones and the Giants got off to a troubled start against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football on September 10, falling behind 16-0 in the first quarter as the Cowboys scored on a blocked punt and later on a 22-yard interception return. The Cowboys were up 26-0 by halftime and continued to pile on in the second half, winning 40-0.
Though the Giants gave Jones a major vote of confidence with a four-year, $160 million extension in March, some fans questioned whether Taylor might give the team a better chance to win in the long run.
Daniel Jones, Giants Stumble in Season Opener
Though the Giants struggled in all three phases of the game in the season opener, much of the blame fell on Jones as he fell flat against an aggressive Cowboys defense. He completed just 15-of-28 passes for 104 yards and two interceptions, with the team’s longest drive going 15 plays for 57 yards before ending with a missed field goal.
With this pick by Stephon Gilmore, Daniel Jones currently has more interceptions than completions against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football 😬
🎥 @NFL
While Jones entered the season as the unchallenged starter, some fans took to Twitter to put in Taylor against the Cowboys.
“Yoooo bench Daniel Jones please! Put my guy Tyrod in,” a fan wrote on Twitter.
Tyrod Taylor time for you to earn your job #Giants
“Daniel Jones has been absolutely horrific in his first game after signing a new contract for $82 million guaranteed,” added another. “It has been so bad that everyone would understand if the Giants went ahead and put in Tyrod Taylor for the second half.”
The fans eventually got their wish. Jones was pulled late in the game, with Taylor coming in with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter and completing both of his two pass attempts for a total of six yards.
Others believed that the former Bills quarterback may have been a better fit as the starter for the 2023 season, suggesting the Giants could have moved on from Jones and used the money spent on his contract to fill out other parts of the roster.
“Hot take: I’d rather have a big money, veteran offensive line with Tyrod Taylor, Saquon, Hyatt, and Waller than DJ on a long term deal,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Tyrod Taylor’s Unhappy Exit in Buffalo
After starting his career with the Baltimore Ravens, Taylor joined the Bills in 2015 and won an open quarterback competition that offseason to become the starter. He started for three seasons, throwing for 8,857 yards with 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 44 career games.
Taylor helped lead the team to the playoffs in 2017, breaking a 17-year playoff drought, but the Bills moved on from him the next offseason as they drafted Josh Allen. Taylor went on to play for three teams before joining the Giants prior to the 2022 season.
Taylor had some mixed feelings about his time in Buffalo, especially his controversial benching during the 2017 season. Taylor was taken out in favor of then-rookie Nathan Peterman, who threw five interceptions in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers before being pulled at halftime with Taylor coming back in to finish the game. Taylor remained the starter for the remainder of the season.
The following year, Taylor said the team wasn’t straight with him about the reason he was pulled.
“I wasn’t being told the truth at the time,” Taylor said, via Pro Football Talk. “The GM told me one thing and the head coach told me something else.”
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