There was only one poor throw by Daniel Jones, and he certainly looked efficient enough during Sunday’s 24-16 victory over the Texans. His performance did not feel like anything special, but that is what the numbers bore out when his passer rating clocked in at 153.3.

Consider this: A perfect passer rating is 158.3. Jones did not miss by much.

The passer rating is a complex formula that consists of five variables: Pass attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions. It does not factor in rushing yards, fumbles or sacks. It rewards a quarterback for completing a high percentage of his passes and for not throwing interceptions.

Jones’ completion percentage in this game of 76.5 was the third highest of his four-year NFL career, and the two times he was even more accurate were also in games this season. He was at 85 percent (17 of 21) in the season-opening victory over the Titans in Nashville and 77.8 percent (21 of 27) in the victory over the Packers in London.

The thought when Brian Daboll took over as head coach was that he would have a considerable effect on Jones, perhaps akin to the way Daboll helped mold Josh Allen into a star in Buffalo when Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator. Daboll, along with offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, have helped Jones take the next step in his quarterback evolution, but not in the dynamic fashion following in Allen’s footsteps.

Sure, Jones at times has been tantalizingly effective with his legs on option runs. His 69 rushing attempts is already a career high, surpassing the 65 attempts he had in 14 games in 2020. His touchdown passes (eight in nine games) are down and his interceptions (two in 237 throws) are way down. Jones has not thrown an interception in six straight games – 145 passes, the second-longest streak of his career. He went 177 consecutive passes without an interception from Nov. 2, 2020, to Jan. 3, 2021. The perception that Jones is turnover-prone is no longer valid.

What his staff has achieved with Jones is playing to his strengths, and it should be noted that this staff has what the previous two staffs did not often enjoy: a healthy Saquon Barkley. Jones excels in play-action, and that call is greatly enhanced when the running back is such a dominant threat. Defenses are trained to deal with Barkley and stop the run. The Giants ran it 47 times to grind to their latest victory, their most rushes in a game in 12 years (also 47 runs on Nov. 7, 2010 in a rout of the Seahawks).

There is no doubt Daboll did not expect his first Giants’ offense to be this reliant on the run. He thought he would have Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson as centerpieces of a passing attack. We all know what went down with Toney (who scored his first NFL touchdown on Sunday for the Chiefs) and what is going down with Golladay (benched after a drop against the Texans). Daboll has made the necessary adjustments and, incredibly, the Giants are winning. Not scoring big, but winning, to the tune of 7-2.

Can Jones throw the Giants to success? The Seahawks limited Barkley to 53 yards, and Jones was sacked five times in 31 pass attempts in a 27-13 loss. There will come a time when Jones is asked to do more than he did to beat the Texans; throwing it 17 times in the NFL today is not the norm. It seems as if Daboll is not comfortable asking his offensive line to pass-block for long stretches. The formula, thus far, is working, for the Giants and Jones.

More that came out of yet another one-score Giants victory:

— Some props need to be given to Tanner Hudson. The No. 2 tight end is now the No. 1 tight end with the absence of Daniel Bellinger, and Hudson has shown he can be a factor in the passing game. He was on the field for only 11 offensive snaps but he was able to be productive, targeted three times by Daniel Jones and coming up with three receptions for 24 yards. Hudson’s biggest contribution might have been the downfield block he gave Darius Slayton, springing Slayton on his 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

— There is yet another iteration of the inside linebacker position, and this one has a rookie in – and a former every-down starter on the outs. Tae Crowder played 100 percent of the snaps in three of the first four games for this new coaching staff and then still was used for about 70 percent of the defensive snaps through Week 7. Crowder played only 22 snaps in Seattle and was barely seen against the Texans, on the field for only two snaps on defense. 

The Giants are looking for their best combination to stop the run and for now are going with Jaylon Smith and rookie Micah McFadden. Smith played 64 percent of the snaps on defense and McFadden played a season-high 36. McFadden’s usage has fluctuated all season, as coordinator Wink Martindale goes week-to-week with his game plans and his deployment of personnel. This pairing was mostly effective against the run. Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce ran 17 times for 94 yards, but other than a 44-yard burst early in the second quarter, Pierce averaged 3.1 yards on his other 16 rushing attempts.

— Here’s another one from Martindale: How about what he got out of Jason Pinnock?  Here is a guy who played a total of one snap on defense in his first five games and, with Xavier McKinney out, Pinnock got the call for 23 snaps. So, of course, Martindale has no problem involving Pinnock in the exotic pressure packages, and Pinnock gets the first 1.5 sacks of his NFL career (he played in 12 games in 2021 with the Jets). Pinnock also added three solo tackles.

—The Nick Gates comeback continues. He played 13 snaps on offense (and four on special teams). All 13 snaps on offense were as an extra blocker in the jumbo packages designed to fill the field with big bodies to run the ball. This is exactly the way Rich Seubert was used back in 2005 and for much of 2006 after he came back from his devastating leg injury and surgeries. Will Gates move into a greater role this season? The Giants do not want to over-extend him, with Gates coming off his own devastating leg injury and surgeries. The only possible landing spot for Gates is at left guard, where rookie Josh Ezeudu is starting in place of injured Ben Bredeson, who gained the starting job after Shane Lemieux was lost to a toe injury. Bredeson (knee) and Lemieux are working their way back. This should leave the Giants with several options in the final weeks of the season.

— It was not perfect for rookie Dane Belton, as he replaced injured Xavier McKinney as the starting safety alongside Julian Love. Belton and Love played all 64 snaps on defense – this was a first for Belton – and it was Belton who essentially snuffed out the Texans’ last legitimate shot with a leaping end zone interception of Davis Mills with 9:49 remaining. One play before that, Belton was late arriving in coverage on a touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks. Luckily for him, the touchdown was wiped off the board when rookie guard Kenyon Green was penalized for holding Dexter Lawrence. On the final play of the third quarter, Belton took a bad angle on a screen pass to tight end Jordan Akins – briefly a member of the Giants this past summer – and the missed tackle allowed Akins to rumble for 46 yards.

“As a rookie you’re gonna make mistakes,’’ Love said of Belton. “It’s all about how you respond. [The interception] is a perfect example of something happening and you respond immediately.’’

Love did have a beef with Belton, though. Immediately after the interception, Belton did what so many defenders now deem necessary – searching to find a television camera to pose and celebrate, with teammates joining in the celebration. Belton was so excited that he sprinted the full 100 yards to pose in front of the camera in the back of the opposite end zone. Rookie mistake.

“Instead of turning about and running 10 yards to the nearest camera,’’ Love said. “So I didn’t chase him down. I was like ‘Yeah, he can have it.’ I cheered him up when we got to the sideline.’’

— The last time a Giants running back carried the ball more than the 35 rushing attempts Saquon Barkley had in this game was more than 23 years ago, when Joe Montgomery ran it 38 times (for 111 yards) as Jim Fassel’s Giants beat Bill Parcells’ Jets 41-28 on Dec. 5, 1999. Barkley’s well-earned 152 yards moved him atop the NFL leaderboard with 931 rushing yards, and the battle with Derrick Henry (923 yards) and Nick Chubb (904) figures to be a winter slugfest. Barkley’s 198 carries is second only to Henry (202), and the question of how much is too much down the stretch is certainly valid. Remember, Barkley does not have a contract yet for 2023.

— The Giants are undefeated – against the AFC. They have beaten the Titans, Ravens, Jaguars and Texans to go 4-0 against the other conference. This is the first season the Giants won four games against AFC opponents since 2011.