Chicken Little never could have convinced Daniel Jones that the sky was falling.
Jones’ composure in the face of fan- and hot-take-created hysteria makes him the ideal quarterback to have set the tone for the Giants in the days after a humbling 40-point season-opening loss.
And he is quietly building a resume as a bounce-back king to prove it.
“Whether you are a young or old player, subconsciously, everybody looks at the quarterback,” receiver Darius Slayton told The Post. “Quarterbacks are blessed and cursed with having influence over the vibe of the team. With D.J., there’s never any panic, so it makes other guys feel comfortable.”
Jones is 7-1-1 in his last nine regular-season games after a loss, dating to October 2021. He’s not just along for the ride, either: Compiling a 69.8 percent completion rate, nine touchdowns compared to zero interceptions, a 100.5 quarterback rating and four rushing touchdowns in those games, according to NFL Research.
He can bolster those credentials Sunday against the Cardinals.
“Being able to handle the good stuff and the bad times with the same mindset allows you to bounce back when it’s not so good and continue playing well when it is good,” Jones told The Post. “Those are my stats, but those are team wins and that means a lot for sure.”
The Giants don’t have the same active streak as Jones because he missed the six straight losses at the end of the 2021 season. In other words, Jones’ even-keel demeanor is a difference-maker.
“Daniel is very mentally tough and he flushes things really easily – and that goes hand-in-hand with that [record],” second-year quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney said. “You have to be that to play this position. It never changes for him, no matter what, whether we lose 40-0 or win 38-7. It’s the same way since I’ve been here.”
Tierney laughed at the suggestion that Jones might tweak anything in his routine or show a different side of his personality based on one result.
“Consistency across the board is what you want,” Tierney said. “You never want to ride the roller-coaster. This league is designed to be up-and-down, so I think anytime your leader is steady, it’s going to be steady for everybody else.”
The most comparable examples to the current situation are Jones leading the Giants to wins after a 38-11 loss to the Rams in 2021 and after a 48-22 loss to the Eagles last season.
“We have the right type of guys in this locker room and have had a lot of those core guys for a few years now,” Jones said. “I believe strongly in the mental toughness of our group.”
