Daniel Jones

A collective sigh emanated from the New York Giants organization and its fanbase after escaping Sunday Night Football with a dubious 20-12 victory over the rival Washington Commanders.

Aside from Washington committing a massive mental error with an illegal formation on what could have been the game-tying touchdown run with 1:03 left to play and an obvious defensive pass interference call missed in the end zone, New York can't be upset with the outcome itself.

However, the short-term relief doesn't provide long-term clarity. The opposite seems to be the case since the 8-5-1 Giants appear to be well on their way to a postseason appearance as the NFC's current sixth seed. Yet the team played poorly throughout the contest, particularly on offense, where major offseason decisions loom.

What becomes of quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley could ultimately be decided over the next three (or more) contests.

Giving credit where it's due, first-year head coach Brian Daboll has his team performing well above expectations. Big Blue posted one winning campaign over the last 10 seasons. That effort occurred seven years ago.

With one win during their final three contests, Daboll and Co. will be on the right side of the ledger, and the Giants' new leader will be in the conversation for NFL Coach of the Year.

Support for Daboll's candidacy primarily involves getting as much as he possibly can from a clearly limited offense. Against Washington, New York's offense—which ranks among the bottom half of the league in both total offense and scoring—managed 288 yards and only one touchdown.

Both Jones and Barkley are previous top-10 selections in contract years. New York's front office already chose not to pick up its quarterback's fifth-year rookie option.

Despite the relatively sluggish start to Jones' career and Barkley's extensive injury history, the idea of keeping them both for at least one more season seemed prudent. However, the path next year seems murkier today than it did during the first half of the season.

Initially, Jones' play seemed primed for the franchise tag. The 2019 sixth-overall selection performed more efficiently and cut down on turnovers, and Daboll allowed him to be a bigger part of the ground game. It worked...for a time.

During New York's current 1-3-1 streak, Jones' effectiveness has diminished. Despite Sunday's victory, Washington's aggressive front forced the Giants' quarterback to get the ball out quickly to avoid getting pressured into mistakes. To be fair, New York did enough on offense to ultimately win. Yet 195 total yards from the game's most important position isn't going to be good enough in many cases.

Jones is a middling quarterback. Coming into New York's latest outing, the fourth-year signal-caller ranked 16th in quarterback rating (91.6), 14th in QBR (55.6), 23rd in average yards per attempt (6.8) and tied for 23rd with 12 passing touchdowns. None of those numbers improved with his latest effort.

The organization must start asking itself whether Jones is their guy for at least one more year or if he's holding back the entire offense. So much can be schemed to help him, and Daboll's staff is doing an excellent job in doing so. But the Giants expected a quarterback who could eventually develop into someone to carry the offense.

Jones isn't, nor has he been at any point in his career to date. A strong finish to this season during a postseason push could go a long way toward helping with the team's decision.

"My mindset's been the same the whole way. I don't think it doesn't change now just because we're later in the season," Jones told reporters last week. "I'm going to focus on playing as well as I can and when the season is over. I'll look back and have a more complete thought about that. I'm just trying to play as well as I can."

Certainly, better wide receiver play could be beneficial. The Giants are basically devoid of talent outside the numbers. Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins led the way Sunday with a combined eight catches for 79 yards. Even so, it's another excuse to serve as a crutch for a player who hasn't definitively staked his claim as the guy to lead the franchise.

The Giants should consider drafting a raw but gifted quarterback option like Kentucky's Will Levis or Florida's Anthony Richardson in next year's first round to develop like Daboll once did with Josh Allen in Buffalo. Barkley can remain the workhorse in 2023 while the franchise adds more at wide receiver as well.

Right now, the offense belongs to Barkley as its focal point. However, even he's had his struggles. The NFL's fourth-leading rusher hasn't been as effective as of late. Prior to Sunday's 87-yard outburst, Barkley posted rushing totals of 28, 63, 39 and 22 during the previous four contests.

Opposing defenses bottled him up, though he helped salt away New York's latest victory with runs of 12, 15, and 14 to start the Giants' final scoring drive that extended the lead to eight points.

Those moments show exactly where the coaching staff believes the ball should be when the game is on the line. In fact, Barkley ran the ball six times compared to one pass for Jones during the critical drive.

But the fact the fifth-year back hasn't been as effective as of late should create some pause when automatically handing out a contract extension. If anything, the franchise tag may be a far more prudent avenue. For comparison, the franchise tag on a running back is $20.1 million cheaper than placing the designation on a quarterback.

When approached about the subject earlier this season, Barkley and the team didn't seem to be close on a specific number.

"We got into a little bit of conversation," Barkley said in November before the two sides tabled talks. "At the end of the day, I put that in the past. That was the bye week. Obviously, we weren't able to come to an agreement during the bye week, and my mindset is just focus on the rest of the season. Next week going against Detroit and knowing when that opportunity comes up again, focus on it then."

Coincidentally, the back's downturn in production began a week after those comments.

Two years from now, the offense can be built fully in Daboll's image potentially without Jones or Barkley on the roster.

Daboll and new general manager Joe Schoen have done the best possible job they could do with the roster they inherited. They should find out over the next few weeks whether the current construction is capable of becoming a consistent competitor or worthy of deconstruction. The most likely path forward is one of a slight teardown and a quick rebuild after paying for the sins of general managers past.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.

The ongoing courtship between the Dallas Cowboys and free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. appears to have reached its end, as the Cowboys are reportedly bringing in a veteran pass-catcher.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater reported that Dallas reached an agreement with receiver T.Y. Hilton on Monday. The 33-year-old had played 10 years with the Indianapolis Colts and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

The addition of Hilton gives the Cowboys the extra offensive weapon they need as the playoffs approach. But where does that leave Beckham?

Here are the top remaining landing spots for the 30-year-old now that Dallas is likely no longer in the running.

Buffalo Bills

Beckham undoubtedly wants to join a contender to win another championship as he did with the Los Angeles Rams last season in Super Bowl LVI. He should look no further than the top team in the AFC.

The Buffalo Bills remained in the No. 1 spot after Sunday's gritty win over the New York Jets. At 10-3, Buffalo is one of the favorites to compete for a Super Bowl title this year, but the team could still use another target for star quarterback Josh Allen.

The Bills have one of the best receivers in the league in Stefon Diggs, who leads the team with 94 receptions, 1,239 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, no other player on the team has 40 catches. Allen's over-reliance on Diggs can come back to haunt Buffalo if teams focus their defense on him.

Adding Beckham to the mix would help take some attention off Diggs. For what it's worth, last month Beckham named the Bills as one of four teams he'd be interested in joining after he completed his recovery from a torn ACL.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are the hottest team in the NFL, earning their sixth straight victory on Sunday with a blowout over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, star receiver Deebo Samuel went down with an ankle injury during the game, putting his status in question for the next few weeks.

Beckham could be the perfect option to fill in for Samuel if he misses extended time. If both are able to be on the field together, it would add a different dimension to an already dynamic 49ers offense.

San Francisco lost veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for at least the remainder of the regular season because of a broken foot. Rookie signal-caller Brock Purdy proved he can steer the ship in the interim with a three-touchdown performance (two passing, one rushing) against the Bucs.

The 49ers could look to add Beckham as another reliable target for the seventh-round pick as they charge toward the postseason.

Kansas City Chiefs

After losing star wide receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have had to adjust on offense. However, perennial MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes still has the Chiefs on the cusp of a seventh straight AFC West title.

While Mahomes has been able to make up for Kansas City's deficiencies throughout the regular season, cracks have begun to show. In Sunday's win over the Denver Broncos, he threw three touchdown passes but also had a season-high three interceptions.

The Chiefs had been hoping free-agent additions JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling would be able to make up for the absence of Hill. They've combined to reach the end zone just four times through 13 games. All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce remains the top target in Kansas City's passing attack.

Beckham would provide Mahomes with another option in the explosive Chiefs offense. He could also open things up for Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling. The three-time Pro Bowler would likely have a ton of fun playing in Andy Reid's scheme.

New York Giants

It's never too late to come home. In Beckham's case, a reunion with the team he started his NFL career with would come at a perfect time.

At 7-5-1, the New York Giants are clinging to the seventh seed in the NFC and could surely use a boost as the regular season winds down. New York is 0-3-1 in its last four games and has dealt with injuries to multiple receivers throughout the year.

Darius Slayton leads the Giants with 608 receiving yards, while Richie James leads the team's wide receivers with 38 receptions and three touchdowns. Quarterback Daniel Jones ranks near the bottom of the league with 194.9 passing yards per game. Clearly, New York's air attack could use an injection of energy.

Beckham has appeared to be open to rejoining the Giants, and he had a "good dinner" with head coach Brian Daboll earlier this month. A return to New York would give him the opportunity to be a key contributor to the team's push for the playoffs.

The New York Giants were so comprehensively beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles in a 48-22 smackdown Sunday, fans of the team got bored with the action on the field and started wondering if the performance would sour Odell Beckham Jr. on potentially signing with the team.

The general consensus, at least among salty Giants fans on Twitter, was that Beckham would choose to stay away:

There were, of course, far more interesting and relevant things from the actual game worth discussing. A beat-up defense was shredded to the tune of 437 yards from scrimmage and 253 yards on the ground, calling into question defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale's game plan on that side of the ball.

The offense was arguably just as poor, failing to consistently string together drives because of poor execution on third-down attempts (4-of-13).

Daniel Jones wasn't awful (18-of-27 for 169 yards and one score; four sacks taken; 26 rushing yards and one touchdown), but he didn't match the big-play output of his counterpart on the other sideline, Jalen Hurts, who threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another.

Jones, of course, doesn't have the weapons that Hurts possesses in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith out wide. The team's most dangerous playmaker, Saquon Barkley, was limited because of a neck injury and only had 11 touches (48 yards from scrimmage).

That is where a player like Beckham could help. But the veteran free agent is likely only going to go to a team where he could make a postseason run, and the 7-5-1 Giants are hardly even guaranteed to reach the playoffs after going 1-4-1 in their past six contests.

The Giants are trending in the wrong direction. It may cost them a reunion with Beckham. At the very least, Sunday's performance against the Eagles (12-1) was ugly, and it has people wondering if the Giants' hot start was simply a mirage.

With the playoffs right around the corner, this isn't an ideal time to lose one of your quarterbacks. That's the position some fantasy football managers find themselves in after Lamar Jackson and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered injuries Sunday.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Baltimore Ravens star has a knee sprain, with head coach John Harbaugh asserting Jackson should be back this year.

Garoppolo, on the other hand, is done for the season after breaking his left foot.

It's impossible to find equal value to Jackson on the waiver wire at this point in the season. In superflex leagues, that's true for Jackson and Garoppolo because the pickings are even more slim.

Jared Goff, who's rostered in 50 percent of Yahoo Sports leagues, could be a worthwhile target in standard leagues after shredding the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Detroit Lions' 40-14 victory. He finished 31-of-41 for 340 yards and two touchdowns and has now gone four straight starts without throwing an interception.

The Minnesota Vikings, Detroit's opponent in Week 14, haven't been elite at stopping the pass this year.

Daniel Jones is rostered in 59 percent of Yahoo's leagues, but the New York Giants have the Philadelphia Eagles on tap. The Eagles are allowing the second-fewest passing yards (178.5) per game and rank first in opponent passer rating (73.6).

With Jones in Week 14, you'd have to hope he could pile up some rushing numbers to pad his fantasy output.

The Tennessee Titans play the Jaguars next week, so Ryan Tannehill could be a good streaming option. The Jaguars are giving up 255.5 yards per game through the air and have allowed 19 touchdowns.

Rostered in just 17 percent of Yahoo's leagues, Tannehill could be a target for owners in standard and superflex leagues alike.

If you happen to play in a superflex league, you'll likely be trying to identify the best worst outcome.

Considering how poorly Zach Wilson has performed, Mike White did little to justify losing the starting job after going 31-of-57 for 369 yards and two interceptions in a 27-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. White appears to have the full support of his New York Jets teammates as well.

Should White get the nod for Week 14 against the Buffalo Bills, he's a high-risk, high-reward waiver target. His ceiling is better than that of Tannehill or the Pittsburgh Steelers' Kenny Pickett, who finished 16-of-28 for 197 yards and one touchdown in a 19-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The New York Giants dropped to 6-2 on the season with an 27-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field, and the offense did not perform well.

Quarterback Daniel Jones completed 17 of 31 passes for 176 yards and no touchdowns. Darius Slayton led Giants receivers with five catches for 66 yards, while running back Saquon Barkley finished with 20 carries for 53 yards and one score.

The team's poor rushing performance was quite surprising, especially because it ranks second in the NFL averaging 173.4 yards per game, per ESPN.

With the offense sputtering, it's clear the Giants need to add another wide receiver at the deadline, or the offense's struggles moving the ball may only continue. That said, the team's offense was bashed by NFL Twitter following Sunday's loss:

New York undoubtedly needs an upgrade from Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson and David Sills V at wide receiver. Robinson had two catches for 15 yards Sunday, while Sills had one catch for five yards.

If the Giants can add a couple of more pieces around Daniel Jones before the Tuesday deadline, there's no doubt they will be able to contend for a playoff spot.

The Giants enter their bye week with a 6-2 record. They'll be back in action against the Houston Texans on Nov. 13.