Giants must make Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley co-faces of the franchise

Even after he threw his costly fourth-quarter interception, Daniel Jones got off the canvas and fought back and marched his team to the end zone the way Eli Manning would in life-and-death moments and gave the Giants a chance to win. 

Saquon Barkley has shaken off his slump and he showed you all the moves when offensive coordinator Mike Kafka finally used him as a lethal weapon out of the backfield. 

Jones and Barkley are the twin faces of the franchise today, and there should be no doubt whatsoever anymore that they should be the twin faces of the franchise tomorrow. 

Money talks, but Jones and Barkley are both 25 and you cannot allow two young captains who haven’t blinked in the glare of the New York market and would love to make a run at a “Once a Giant, Always a Giant” walk. 

On a team that prides itself on its resilience, there are no greater examples than the quarterback and the Pro Bowl running back. 

Of course Brian Daboll has been a godsend for Jones, just as Josh Allen promised he would be. But Jones wouldn’t have had a chance if he wasn’t made of the right stuff, the mental toughness and all the rest of the difference-making intangibles and the physical toughness and leadership that every franchise demands of its franchise quarterback. 

When you complete eight passes to Isaiah Hodgins and eight passes to Richie James, it is called elevating the players around you. 

When you suffer an ankle injury and tough it out to be available for your team in London, and show up every time there is a game scheduled, that doesn’t go unnoticed by teammates. 

Remember Daboll telling us how he drove through a snowstorm after he was hired and when he arrived at 1925 Giants Drive, Jones (13 TDs, 5 INTs) was planted inside the facility studying film? “There weren’t many people in the building,” Daboll said, “but one of them was Daniel Jones.” 

Look at them now. Jones’ 90.7 quarterback rating is a career high and his 617 rushing yards is a single-season franchise record for a quarterback. 

And so, after all the lousy coaching and all the adversity he endured, I say this today: 

This Daniel Jones has proven to be a worthy successor to Eli Manning. 

And the best is yet to come when GM Joe Schoen gets him a No. 1 receiver and another quality bodyguard or two. 

Barkley is a different kind of Comeback Kid, his career kneecapped the way it was and no one could be certain whether he would ever be the same. 

He is. 

His explosiveness is back — his yards per carry has risen from 3.7 last season to 4.4 this season — and it sure looks as though he is peaking at the right time, when he is one home win over the Colts away from his first postseason showtime. 

Barkley (283-1,254-10 TDs rushing, 55-343 receiving) cannot lay to waste the argument that because of position value you should never draft a running back with the second pick of the NFL draft because former GM Dave Gettleman passed on Allen, but guess what? There isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t want him with the ball in his hands. 

He has fashioned an inspirational season that speaks volumes about his commitment to excellence and his character. 

The Giants are 8-6-1. At the merciful end of the 4-13 2021 season, John Mara was referring to Giants fans when he said: “I’m gonna have to earn their trust again.” 

Hiring Schoen, and Schoen hiring Daboll, has earned him that trust. 

“We’re gonna get it right this time,” Mara vowed. 

He got it right. 

Schoen and Daboll weeded out most everyone — save for any albatross big-ticket contracts — not deemed smart, tough and dependable. The Giants will need more of them. Trust Schoen and Daboll to find them. Look no farther than Schoen identifying one of his former Bills, the emerging Hodgins, as a promising asset. 

“Let’s just start crawling before we walk,” Schoen said when he arrived. 

Jones spent years crawling before he started walking alongside Daboll this season, and lately he has been walking briskly toward the first playoff berth of his career. 

Barkley sprinted out of the NFL gate as a rookie and was then forced to start crawling during an arduous rehab during which his mettle and self-confidence were tested as never before. 

“I’m tired of sitting up here at the end of the year trying to explain what went wrong and why I feel optimistic about the future,” Mara said after the 2020 season. “I want to do it after a winning season.” 

A win over the Colts on Sunday in front of raucous and exhilarated Giants fans will give Mara that long-lost winning season and a long-lost playoff berth to boot. The quarterback and the running back are two of the biggest reasons why.