The New York Giants have been under a microscope this year. After exceeding expectations in 2022 with a postseason Wild Card victory, the Giants came crashing back down to earth last season. They finished with a 6-11 record behind a putrid outing from the offense throughout the campaign, highlighted by a disappointing season from Daniel Jones that ended prematurely due to a torn ACL.
The Giants received plenty of criticism this offseason for not moving on with Jones and sticking with him as their starting quarterback going into the new season. Jones himself has been scrutinized throughout his career, whether fairly or unfairly, for failing to lead the Giants to winning seasons. Whether it be from fans or analysts, Jones can’t stop taking the punches — and they’re unlikely to stop after a rusty outing in his first preseason game of the summer on Saturday.
Tom Brady takes a subtle shot at Giants QB Daniel Jones during Fanatics Fest panel
Recently, Jones publicly took another stray bullet from no other than the GOAT Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion was admittedly “critical” of Jones during a panel at Fanatics Fest this weekend, using the Giants’ signal-caller as an example of a quarterback who throws an interception (h/t Ben Fawkes on X):
“Let’s say Daniel Jones throws an interception,” Brady said before laughter from fans in attendance interrupted him (h/t Jordan Raanan of ESPN). He then tried to backtrack after realizing how his comment was interpreted, but ultimately stuck to the critical tone for Jones.
“I didn’t mean to say it like that. I wasn’t even being critical of Daniel Jones,” he said. “Maybe I was a little.”
Many Giants fans were upset with Brady for his comments on Friday night, although they seemed to come in jest, saying it was unfair of him to take a shot at Jones the way he did. However, some fans think the criticism was justified and feel even more strongly after watching Jones struggle in the team’s preseason matchup with the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon.
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Jones turns in ugly preseason performance against the Texans
Giants head coach Brian Daboll put the starters in for the team’s second preseason game on Saturday afternoon, including Jones, who made his first game appearance since tearing his ACL last November. Jones definitely looked like he had some rust to shake off, to put it gently.
He opened the game with a pass intended for rookie WR Malik Nabers that was nearly interception. A few plays later, he threw a bad pass while fighting off pressure in the end zone, which was picked off and subsequently returned for a Texans touchdown. He then threw his second interception of the game on the very next drive while attempting to hit WR Jalin Hyatt on a deep ball down the right sideline.
It was a nightmarish start to the game for Jones. He ultimately settled into the game and cooled off on the risky, turnover-worthy throws, but the gross start to the game left a sour taste in the mouth of Giants fans. Jones ultimately finished the game going 11-18 passing for 138 yards, two interceptions, and zero touchdowns.
Brady’s comments were clearly not intentionally harmful. Even though he admitted he was being mildly critical of Jones, he was originally attempting to explain that, oftentimes, quarterbacks are not the ones solely responsible for their mistakes. In the case of Jones, though, the timing of his preseason pick-six was poor.
Giants fans are concerned after watching the team underperform so severely in the preseason game against the Texans. If the team wants to be competitive this season, Jones will need to perform better. And he’ll want to minimize those interceptions to keep Brady from continuing to make critical comments as the future Hall of Fame quarterback begins his broadcasting career this season.
