John Ross shows off blazing speed on long TD catch

The Giants signed John Ross this past offseason in hopes that he would add a new element to the offense. It took only one game to see that the former first-round pick has the type of blazing speed that can topen things up for himself and his fellow pass-catchers.

In his Giants debut against the Saints last week, Ross got the team on the board with their first touchdown of the game. The 25-year-old stepped on the gas and hit an impressive 21.13 miles per hour, getting behind the defense and catching a 52-yard heave from Daniel Jones for a touchdown.

Next Gen Stats ranked the league's top 10 fastest ball carriers from the first four weeks of the season, and Ross' touchdown catch in New Orleans came in at No. 9 on the list.

"I think that's something that's hard to coach against," Ross said to the the media Monday about defenses trying to account for his speed. "Once you utilize it, it's something you have to really hone in on. I think what me and Kadarius (Toney) can do opens up a lot of things...

"There's no secret that I'm fast, so I would expect when teams put out a scouting report, or whenever my name is called, the first thing they think of is speed. So, I expect to kind of get a softer coverage a lot of times and for guys to play deeper."

As Ross noted, his incredible speed is no secret around the NFL.

The former University of Washington receiver put up a jaw-dropping performance at the 2017 NFL Combine, breaking Chris Johnson's previous record of 4.24 on the 40-yard dash with his 4.22 time. His speed was a big factor in the Cincinnati Bengals selecting him with the 9th overall pick in that year's draft.

Ross finished his first game as a Giant with three receptions for 77 yards and the touchdown.

"If you've got speed that can take the top off, they've got to decide on how they want to cover you," Judge said Wednesday about how guys like Ross and Toney help open up space on the field for other guys on offense. "Do they trust a guy to lock up man the entire game, the entire field? Do they have to have safety help over the top? Is it one safety, two safeties based on however they see your guys as a threat and the situation of it? Does it help you as far as kind of lightening up the box? It can. It can. Now, some teams will just turn around and just tell their corners, have a nice day and we're going to load the box anyway, so we'll see how they approach it.

Daniel Jones keeps even keel through the 'storms'

The weather was cloudy and calm here Wednesday, but that didn't preclude the two most prominent members of the Giants football operation from using the word "storms." But they were not discussing the weather.

Coach Joe Judge, asked about Daniel Jones winning the NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award, said as part of a lengthy response, "I've seen him weather a lot of storms."

Jones was cited by the NFL after throwing for a career-high 402 yards and two touchdown passes longer than 50 yards in the Giants' 27-21 overtime triumph on Sunday in New Orleans, their first victory of the season after three losses.

When it was Jones' turn to field questions from the media after practice, he was asked what Judge was referring to.

"I don't know, I mean, we haven't won enough games – that's no secret – the first two years, and obviously this season didn't start how we wanted it to or expected it to," Jones said. "Those are storms we've all had to weather, and we've got to continue to progress, continue to improve. I think it was a big win for us, but it's over now and our focus is on Dallas and making sure we're prepared this week."

Jones played his finest game of the season in winning his second career player of the week award and his first since his NFL starting debut as a rookie two years ago. He completed 28 of 40 passes (70%), exceeded 300 passing yards for the first time since the 2019 season finale and led an offense that scored 17 late points to overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Judge was asked if winning the award might help Jones' "psyche" or "confidence."

"When someone gets an award like that, that's a team award," Judge said. "Any time a quarterback gets an award, that starts with the protection (Jones was not sacked in the game). That starts with the skill players being able to make plays with the ball in their hands. It starts with the defense and the kicking game giving field position and opportunities to get the ball back and make plays. Obviously, what he's done is he's capitalized on the opportunities and that's what we preach to all of our players. You can't force when the opportunity comes your way, but you have to handle it the right way when it does. He obviously has done that. He's put our team in a position to have success. I see him improving every day.

"In terms of just national awards improving someone's psyche, I've seen this guy weather a lot of storms already. In our short time together, I've seen him weather a lot of storms. In terms of anything on the outside influencing him, if he's going to go ahead and have this make him feel good, what's it going to be when it crashes down the other way? This guy does a good job of just making sure he stays focused on what the task at hand is and move forward every week."

🗣️ Dexter Lawrence Mic'd Up: 'No fear, this is our day'

Check out the video below to watch defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence Mic'd Up during the team's Week 4 overtime win against the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome.