Trailing 12-3 midway through the second quarter, New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones recognized that his defense was struggling and that the game was quickly slipping through their fingers.
It was in that moment that the competitor in Jones took over.
Walking into the huddle, Jones had a simple but surprising message for his teammates: “Let’s [expletive] score.”
Initially, Jones’ teammates were taken aback, having never heard the otherwise quiet and subdued quarterback curse, let alone dropping a loud f-bomb in the middle of a game.
“That was the thing that propelled us to keep fighting,” wide receiver Russell Shepard said.
And fight they did.
Jones approach the line, took the snap from Jon Halapio and dropped back. Realizing the Bucs defense sold out on the pass and had turned their backs to the line of scrimmage, Jones tucked the ball away and ran into the NFL for his first NFL score.
The sidelined erupted.
While the Giants would sputter after that going into halftime, Jones’ relentless spirit would provide the fuel for a magical second half comeback, which saw Big Blue erase an 18-point deficit, take the lead with under 2:00 remaining and then cheer on as a potential game-winning Tampa Bay field goal sailed wide right.
[Expletive] yeah! The Daniel Jones era has begun.
