Nothing but an open field and an end zone was in front of Daniel Jones.
Unfortunately, Jones' legs just couldn't keep up with the opportunity, as an 80-yard adventure for Danny Dimes stumbled a nickel and three cents shy of pay dirt.
"I just … I don't know … I tried to run faster than I was running and I got caught up," Jones said after the game, . "We finished the drive and scored a touchdown. That was a relief."
Trailing 14-7 in the third quarter and backed up at their 12-yard line, the Giants' drive began with the second-year quarterback finding a mammoth opening at the line and sprinting through and past the Eagles defense. Just when it became apparent that Eagles defenders weren't going to catch the Giants' season-leading rusher, Jones caught himself.
His legs and gas tank appeared to simultaneously bellow, "Not so fast."
Stumbling and stuttering with his stride, Jones eventually toppled and rolled, coming to a rest when Eagles DB Jalen Mills touched the downed Giants quarterback at the Philadelphia 8.
Social media erupted -- and even Jones' teammates on the Giants sideline were shown on-camera laughing.
In many ways, it was a play emblematic of Jones' tenure with the Giants, one of unfinished promise so far. In other ways, it was telling of a comical NFC East in which the Eagles are now in first place for the time being at 2-4-1. It was somehow a highlight and a lowlight, the reaction and importance altered because the Giants finished the drive with a touchdown.
Still, like Jones couldn't come up with the touchdown despite the wide-open field, the Giants couldn't come up with the victory despite having it in their hands.
Jones dialed upon a precision third-and-7 pass to Evan Engram late in the fourth quarter that would've clinched a win, but Engram dropped it. Jones, however, took the blame, even though it was clearly a pinpoint pass by the quarterback and a drop by the tight end.
"I've got to do a better job putting the ball in a better position," Jones said.
And then the game really ended when Jones was strip-sacked by Brandon Graham and the Eagles recovered to seal a 22-21 win.
Jones finished with a game-high 92 yards rushing on four carries and remains his team's leading rusher on the season, which is more of a negative than a plus. The 80 yards he gained on the play were more than a New York running back has gained in a game all season as the Giants have fallen short of living life after Saquon Barkley, who's out for the season.
A back-and-forth Eagles victory over the Giants on Thursday produced plenty of plays good, bad and everything in between. But no play garnered greater notice than Jones' 80-yard run that came to a stumbling halt. And though the drive ended well, the play proved symbolic of the Giants' woes overall.
"It's a tough one for us to swallow," Jones said of the loss. "We got to find a way to finish the game on offense."
