Paul’s Pick

The timing for Daniel Jones is fine, as the assignment of taking on the Buccaneers on the road is not exactly mission impossible. Maybe the improvement the Giants’ defense showed in the second half last week is the start of an upward trend, and Jameis Winston coughs it up a few times. Eli Manning was far from the top of the list when it comes to what is wrong.

Buccaneers 27, Giants 17

Marquee Matchup

Buccaneers OLB Shaquil Barrett vs. Giants LT Nate Solder

Want to know the best way to help Daniel Jones in his first NFL start? Keep pass-rushing demons such as Barrett off his back. Barrett did not develop into a sack artist in Denver (14 sacks in five years), but he signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers and he already has four sacks — three coming in last week’s victory in Carolina, when he abused left tackle Daryl Williams. Barrett’s hit of Cam Newton on a key second-down play in the closing minutes was not a sack but forced Newton to throw the ball into the ground. Barrett is a speed guy who utilizes a standup rush, and if the massive Solder does not get his feet moving, there will be trouble.

“We take that very seriously protecting him and running the ball and all of the things that we need to do to be successful as an offense,’’ Solder said.

James Bettcher showed as the defensive coordinator with the Cardinals that he could put a dangerous product on the field — as long as he had four or five stud players capable of carrying out his orders. Bettcher does not have that with the Giants, and the results in the first six quarters of this season were abysmal. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians believed in Bettcher in Arizona when Arians had Bettcher on his staff and gave him a shot to run the defense.

“I think it takes time, especially for rookies,’’ Arians said of Bettcher’s system. “We played a couple of rookies and we had some issues in Arizona. It’s an extremely sound system, but it does take some learning curve.’’

The Giants are playing rookies and younger players, and it is abundantly clear Bettcher needs to not be dogmatic and to simplify his schemes.

Bomb Squad: There is no doubt Pat Shurmur covets Daniel Jones’ ability to make plays with his legs and, for the first time in eons, there is now a run-pass option variable in the offense. Jones ran for 1,323 yards and scored 17 rushing touchdowns at Duke. No one is saying he is Michael Vick or Russell Wilson, but he can scoot when necessary. The Giants hope he also throws the ball down the field more readily than Manning did.

“That’s something that’s going to have to play out,’’ tight end Evan Engram said. “DJ has a real good arm and he’s accurate with the deep ball, so we’ll see.’’

No Rabbit Season: Cornerback Janoris Jenkins spoke the truth when he complained it is impossible for him to cover a receiver for 8-10 seconds and implored his teammates to get more pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Giants did not have a sack in the opener and got three last week against the Bills, so there is some progress. But Shurmur did not appreciate Jackrabbit’s comments.

“I don’t think he meant it in that way,’’ rookie defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence told The Post. “He just meant it by everybody doing their job, everybody doing their one-eleventh. He meant no harm by it. We all respect him and he respects us. He mentioned it, he said ‘You-all know me, you-all know I’m not like that.’ It’s over now.’’

The Real Thing: This is no longer the vanilla defenses of the preseason for Jones. He showed he could thrive in those tepid situations. The heat is on now, in every sense. Buccaneers defensive coordinator (and former Jets coach) Todd Bowles makes a living eating up and spitting out rookie quarterbacks and will throw all he has at Jones. Simply handing it to Saquon Barkley might not work — the Bucs limited the Panthers to 39 rushing yards last week. Bowles is going to force Jones to throw it, and it’s a good thing Jones has Sterling Shepard back after sitting out one game with a concussion.