By the time Daniel Jones had reached the 50-yard line, Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck had seen enough.
“He is gone!” Buck shouted, and every piece of evidence supported this claim. Jones, who has good speed, was four yards ahead of the closest defender, and there were some Eagles pursuers who were already starting to ease up and let the inevitable happen.
And then, Jones’s worst nightmares came to life.
There’s been more than enough negativity to go around for the Giants this season, and this won’t be the space to add on to the pile. The play represented the longest rushing play by a quarterback since Marcus Mariota’s 87-yard touchdown scamper in Week 13 of 2015. It’s the fourth-longest run by a quarterback in league history, and it’s one yard longer than Saquon Barkley’s career high.
All’s well that ends well, and I’m pleased to report that the Giants scored a touchdown four plays later. Jones’s teammates didn’t wait that long to appreciate the humor of the moment, not even attempting to hide their laughter after Jones got too far ahead of his skis.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose career-long rush is a mere 28 yards, sympathized with Jones’ plight on Twitter:
Jones was already the team leader in rushing yards coming into Thursday’s game, and he’s widened the gap with his most recent graceful display. Eli Manning’s career long was just 18 yards, so Jones is well on his way to winning over the hearts of Giants fans for years to come.
