The only way to stop Daniel Jones was to unleash the fury of Mother Nature. Nothing else could stop him as he made his much-anticipated NFL preseason debut.

The Giants could not have scripted the Jones unveiling any better even if they allowed general manager Dave Gettleman to submit a screenplay.

The rookie quarterback subbed for starter Eli Manning with 7:59 remaining in the first quarter of Thursday night’s preseason game against the Jets. What followed was the blueprint for that the franchise hopes will be a sign of exploits to come.

“It went well,’’ Jones said.

Very well.

On a stormy evening, the Giants beat the Jets 31-22 and Jones flashed the potential the Giants insist he oozes after making him the No. 6-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He went 5-for-5 for 67 yards (passer rating a perfect 158.3) on an exquisite drive he capped off with pinpoint 12-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler in the right corner of the end zone. Fowler beat safety Santos Ramirez, secured the ball and then promptly handed it back to Jones for safekeeping.

Jones would have stayed in the game, but a severe-weather warning forced the stadium seating bowl to be emptied with 1:23 remaining in the first quarter. The teams took shelter in the locker rooms as rain, thunder and lightning followed, and after a delay of 59 minutes, Jones did not return, replaced by Alex Tanney.

“When we had that long delay I felt it was time then, even though it was only eight plays, I felt it was time,’’ Shurmur said.

Manning started, but this was a complete cameo appearance. He was in for one series — a brief series too reminiscent of some of the shoddy 2018 work of the first-team offense. Manning completed his only pass attempt, a 3-yard gain to tight end Scott Simonson. The third-and-8 call was a give-up draw play to Wayne Gallman and the three-and-out prompted a few boos from the sparse crowd.

The boos turned into polite applause when Jones trotted in. How eager was he? He rushed in and out of the huddle and got the offense up to the line of scrimmage, but the game was paused for a commercial, and do Jones had to re-huddle.

Coach Pat Shurmur continues to say he is getting Jones, 22, ready to play Week 1 — just in case. Manning remains firmly entrenched as the starter, but Jones certainly made a masterful first impression.

What would Shurmur say to those who want Jones to start right away?

“I think slow your roll,’’ Shurmur said. “I think he did a good job. He’s done nothing to disappoint us and certainly when we take the team down the field and score a touchdown, good start. Something to build on. Nothing at this point has changed.’’

Shurmur pointed out Jones was not perfect. On his very first play, he failed to signal the tight end to go in motion. If not for Wayne Gallman alertly picking up the defensive end, Jones might have gotten clobbered, instead of having the time to complete a pass to Cody Latimer for 5 yards.

“I was thinking, but yeah, just missed that,’’ Jones said. “Yeah. We had it again, I got it right the next time.’’

A moment later, Shurmur assessed Jones’ outing thusly: “He looked pretty good, didn’t he? We sort of knew that when we picked him.’’

True to his word, Shurmur did not baby Jones, allowing him to come out firing. The Jets took their starting defense out after the one series against Manning, leaving Jones to operate against backups.

Off a play-fake, Jones got to air it out and lofted a completion to Latimer good for 31 yards. Jones on third-and-7 found Fowler on the right sideline and hit him for 8 yards, with Fowler beating Trent Cannon and Jones putting the ball exactly where it needed to go. Jones then tossed his scoring pass to Fowler.

Jones’ quick-strike series enthralled his teammates. As he returned to the sideline, Saquon Barkley, who did not play in the game, was waiting for him, pounding the turf in delight and then leaping to give Jones a chest-bump. On the same night Dwayne Hawkins — the Ohio State product many fans wanted the Giants to select — tossed a pick-six in his debut for the Redskins, Jones could do no wrong.

“I think he did an unbelievable job, understanding the offense, reading the defense, putting the ball where it needed to be,’’ Barkley said of Jones. “He did an amazing job of going down and putting points on the board.’’

Three takeaways

1. The kick return job is open, and if rookie Corey Ballentine is going to take the ball from deep in the end zone and bring it back 40 yards — as he did in the second quarter Thursday — he has a shot to fill the role.

2. This is what RB Paul Perkins cannot do: Lose the ball on a fumble on the Jets’ 16-yard line. He later dropped a short pass. Perkins is a young veteran and he will not make the team if he puts the ball on the ground.

3. First-year WR Alonzo Russell makes all sorts of plays in training camp. He needs to show something in these games. The over-the-shoulder catch down the left sideline for 34 yards late in the second quarter qualifies as showing something.