Daniel Jones says the Giants can 'compete with anybody' in 2023

Led by quarterback Daniel Jones, the New York Giants were one of the most surprising teams in the NFL during the 2022 season. They won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year.

That doesn’t seem to be a worry for Jones, who told the New York Post this week that he believes the team will be able to compete with all other 31 teams in the league.

“We’re confident,” Jones told the New York Post, “and we know we can compete with anybody.”

The 2022 Giants finished the season with a 9-7-1, good for third in the NFC East and the second wild card spot in the NFC.

In the playoffs, they upset the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the playoffs for their first postseason win since 2011.

The previous decade had been a lot of struggles for the proud New York franchise. They made the playoffs once between 2011 and 2022 in 2016. There were only two winning seasons. Including Brian Daboll, the team’s head coach hired after the 2021 season, there were six head coaches — including interims) over the previous decade.

But the Giants turned it around in part thanks to a resurgent Jones — who entered the season with his future in doubt following New York declining to pick up his fifth-year option in the spring. Jones threw for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns against only five interceptions. He also added another 708 yards on the ground and seven rushing yards as Daboll unlocked new elements to the former Duke signal-caller’s game.

Even following their surprisingly successful 2022 season, the Giants won’t start off the year as main characters in the NFL. In their division alone are the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, the omnipresent Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders with a new ownership group.

In the city of New York, the New York Jets are prime to be back-page darlings with Aaron Rodgers leading the team.

Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux said the low expectations are fine with him and the team will own the underdog role with pride.

“I mean, it’s been good for me. I like to lay low,” Thibodeaux told NFL Network. “I’m happy that people are counting us out, cause that gives us more time to just work. We don’t have to answer those questions. We don’t have to worry about everybody looking at us. We can just keep our head down and grind.