Duke’s Daniel Jones might’ve finalized an NFL Draft case in Independence Bowl

He finished with six total touchdowns on the day, and could be on his way to the NFL, if he declares.

The 2018 Independence Bowl between Temple and Duke in Shreveport was a fun one in the first half, and was as close as 28-27 Duke early in the third quarter. But it didn’t end that way — the Blue Devils didn’t let their foot off the gas in the second half, scoring 35 unanswered points to beat the Owls 56-27 in Shreveport.

The story of the game was Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, who had a hell of a day despite playing a bit banged up, dealing with an apparent ankle injury early on. Jones finished his junior season on quite the high note, going 30-of-41 for 423 yards and six total touchdowns, including an 85-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. His five TD passes are an Independence Bowl record, the previous mark set by Florida State’s Justin Blackmon with four in 2017.

He did have a couple of interceptions, but his big-time numbers certainly make up for that mistake.

Jones now has a pretty important decision to make — as a junior, he’s eligible to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. Given the pretty weak quarterback class, Jones has a chance to declare and perhaps have a big offseason to work his way up draft boards. We’ll have to wait and see what he decides, but with the news that Justin Herbert is staying at Oregon, Jones has a chance to take advantage of teams not having too many options at QB.

No, teams don’t draft guys off of bowl games, but at 6’5, 220 pounds, he’s clearly got the size to get looks from several NFL teams, and his 124.8 passer rating (79th among QBs) this season certainly helps his stock. SB Nation’s latest mock draft lists Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Missouri’s Drew Lock as the only quarterbacks going in the first round, so there’s certainly room for Jones to boost his stock.

Perhaps his most impressive moment of the game was showing off a valuable NFL QB skillset — catching a pass thrown by himself:

“He’ll be a first-round draft choice if he does comes out,” Cutcliffe said leading up to the game. “He’s so accurate. He’s big. He’s fast. He’s athletic. He understands the game. He’s got a fast-twitch mind to go with that fast-twitch body. He’s got impeccable character. You don’t get many chances to draft a guy like that.”

As for the Blue Devils’ future quarterback situation if Jones does declare, it’s in pretty good hands — Duke’s No. 2 quarterback Quinten Harris had a rushing touchdown early in the game, along with two completions, and a 24-yard reception, too.

Temple obviously would have liked to go out on a high note under interim head coach Ed Foley on Thursday, but this one got away from the Owls in the second half. The good news is, they get to hit the reset button once the Manny Diaz era in Philadelphia officially gets underway in 2019.

For Duke, this is a great way to end a 2018 season after disappointing losses to Clemson and Wake Forest. Still, the win over the Owls puts the Blue Devils at 8-5 to finish the year, marking head coach David Cutcliffe’s second eight-win season at Duke, and his third bowl victory.

Congrats to the Blue Devils and Jones on a great close to the 2018 season. If this is the last time we see Jones in a Duke uniform, it wasn’t a bad way to go out.