Daniel Jones was down all of his top receivers Sunday, so he became one himself.
The Giants’ quarterback made a one-handed, 16-yard catch of a Dante Pettis pass in the third quarter that got fans on their feet in a 25-3 get-right win over the pathetic Carolina Panthers.
Jones finished off the drive with a TD pass to Pettis, buying much-needed breathing room from an uncomfortably close 5-3 lead that the Giants had held since early in the second quarter.
The TD pass to Pettis with 59 seconds left in the third quarter put the Giants up, 12-3, and basically ended the game.
Former Jets QB Sam Darnold was so bad that he got benched early in the fourth quarter for backup P.J. Walker.
With the NFL trade deadline just over a week away, the Panthers have never looked more like a Deshaun Watson suitor than they did on Sunday.
Sources had told the Daily News late in the week the Panthers could be the primary challenger to the Dolphins for Watson, though Miami remains the favorite.
The Giants improved to 2-5 with their first win in three weeks. The Panthers (3-4) lost their fourth straight since running back Christian McCaffrey got hurt.
On top of that, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes got kneed in the head in Kansas City’s loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, adding intrigue to the buildup to next week’s Giants Monday Night visit to Arrowhead.
The Giants defense totaled 6.5 sacks, led by rookie Azeez Ojulari with 2.5 teeing off on Carolina’s banged-up O-line. The Panthers’ receivers were dropping passes left and right.
And Darnold was erratic. One might say he was seeing ghosts.
Jones finished 22-of-33 passing for 203 yards and one TD, plus seven rushes for 29 yards and one right-handed catch for 16 yards.
The Giants said he is the third QB in NFL history with 200-plus yards passing, 25-plus yards rushing, and 15-plus yards receiving in the same game.
Jones did all of that without injured weapons Kadarius Toney (ankle), Kenny Golladay (knee), Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Saquon Barkley (ankle). He was also missing starting left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot, ankle).
Darnold was 16-of-25 for 111 yards and an interception. Carolina traded second, fourth and sixth-round picks for him, but they clearly still need a quarterback.
The Giants led at halftime for the first time all season, 5-3. Their offense was frustratingly unproductive in the first half. The Panthers’ was simply worse.
An active Leonard Williams forced Darnold into an early-second quarter safety on intentional grounding in the end zone. Those were the only points outside of field goals exchanged by both teams.
The Panthers were pinned on their own goal line because the Giants offense had turned the ball over on downs, failing to score on three straight plays from inside the 1.
The Giants’ offense committed five of the team’s six first half penalties. Three were on the offensive line: two illegal men downfield calls on Matt Peart and Nate Solder, and a false start on Will Hernandez.
Hernandez got Jones sacked on a simple stunt by Brian Burns. And Jeremy Chinn blasted Jones into an intentional grounding when he beat center Billy Price.
James Bradberry intercepted Darnold late in the second quarter, though, to snuff out a Carolina drive inside the red zone and take the lead into the half.
Sunday marked the first time all season the Giants defense did not give up a touchdown in the final two minutes of the first half.
