Giants head coach Pat Shurmur revealed that the team is contemplating a quarterback change ahead of Sunday’s Week 3 game in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers.

Amid the sixth 0-2 start in the past seven seasons, Eli Manning and the Giants’ offense has been stuck in neutral. Manning is averaging a career-low 9.9 yards per completion and 6.2 yards per passing attempt.

The Giants are averaging just 15.5 points per game in their losses at the Dallas Cowboys and against the Buffalo Bills, which is the fifth-lowest total in the NFL.

Playing No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones isn’t just about giving the rookie a chance to learn on the job, following in the footsteps of Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills quarterback Josh Allen, among others last year. Rather, Jones just might give the Giants a better chance to win right now than Manning can.

Here’s a look at five ways Jones has a chance to immediately improve the Giants’ offense as soon as he takes the field (mobile app users please click here to read this story):

1) Deep ball accuracy

First series for Daniel Jones ...



5/5, 67 yds and a TD 🔥 (via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/m1KARhhmhC — ESPN (@espn) August 8, 2019

Manning was unable to connect with Bennie Fowler deep on a go-route in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, but Jones thrived on those deep balls throughout the preseason. Jones flashed a propensity for not only fitting the ball into tight windows, but also precision on back-shoulder throws that are extremely difficult for defensive backs to defend. In the preseason, Jones averaged 12.3 yards per attempt, which is nearly double Manning’s current average.

This is not a new trend for Manning. He has lost much of whatever accuracy on throws outside the numbers that he had during his prime in recent seasons.

As Pro Football Focus points out, Manning’s big-time throw percentage from a clean pocket (3.3%) was the sixth-lowest in the NFL in 2018.

Even if Giants receivers struggle to gain separation, Jones showed that he has the ability to consistently throw his targets open, which should give the passing game a boost.

2) Functional mobility to extend plays

It's getting HOT in here 🔥

That's a HOT BOYZ fumble recovery for the #DallasCowboys #NYGvsDAL pic.twitter.com/0Cac2bpJb0 — Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 8, 2019

On 4th down and 1 deep in the red zone against the Cowboys, Maning rolled out to the right on a naked bootleg, that was snuffed out by linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Manning lacked the mobility to beat Vander Esch to the sticks, but Jones’ athleticism at least gives him a chance reach the yard to gain.

Beyond scrambling for first downs, Jones’ elusiveness in the pocket will only help the Giants’ improved offensive line as well as buy time for his receivers downfield to freelance off of their routes to create separation late in the down.

3) Unlocking the Run-Pass-Option plays in Pat Shurmur’s playbook

Beyond extending plays, Jones’ athleticism adds a dimension to the Giants’ playbook that has not been utilized with Manning behind center. When Shurmur was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback Case Keenum wound up running on 28.7 percent of his passing attempts, according to Pro Football Focus.

Last season, Manning only ran the ball 11 times. Run-pass-options were a mainstay of Jones’ practice reps during training camp and he averaged 135 rushing attempts in three collegiate seasons at Duke.

There is a chance that the Giants’ offensive scheme will be virtually unrecognizable from his current state once Jones has the leeway to execute the RPO plays based on his pre and post-snap reads.

4) Ability to hit on play-action

With Saquon Barkley in the backfield, the Giants’ passing game should be predicated on play-action. However, last season, Manning and the Giants ran play-action on just 24 percent of offensive snaps and New York’s DVOA dropped to -8.4 on play-action passes, which ranked 17th in the league.

The inability to effectively sell the play-action fake and make defenses pay for biting on it is simply underutilizing Barkley’s value. Jones’ pre-NFL Draft scouting report highlighted the fact that he benefited from running an offense at Duke that is built around RPO’s and play-action, which might be one of the deciding factors that convinced the Giants to take him in the first place.

5) Ability to beat pressure

The Giants’ offensive line has has made marked improvements over last season. Entering Week 3, the Giants’ offensive line ranks fourth in the NFL in pressure rate over expectation, and that’s against two of the best defensive fronts in the league (the Cowboys and Bills).

However, if the line hits a rough patch or a team such as the Eagles, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings or Green Bay Packers is able to win the battle up front, Jones’ production under pressure is going to be an asset.

As Pro Football Focus points out, Jones had the second-highest grade (59.7) against pressure in the 2019 NFL Draft class. In the season opener, Manning’s completion percentage under pressure was just 50.7 on the way to a 28 grade under pressure situations. Manning an adjusted completion percentage when blitzed of 33 percent, compared to an 80.0 completion in a clean-pocket.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL