New York Giants: Daniel Jones describes ‘bad decision’ on interception

New York Giants, Daniel Jones
Dec 13, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a warm up pass before a game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants wrapped up the preseason without a win, but it’s the performance of Daniel Jones that many will focus on rather than the overall result of their final game. Jones was one of the Giants starters who appeared in the preseason finale after resting the first two games, and appeared to put on an inferior performance to his rookie counterpart from the Patriots.

The most glaring mistake came in the form of a goal-line interception, where Jones fired the ball into traffic and cost the Giants a chance to come away with points. The interception mars a performance where Jones had 17 completions on 22 attempts, albeit only with an average of 6.1 yards per completion.

What did Jones have to say about the interception?

“I look at that play independently, like I look at all of them,” Jones said when asked about his view on the interception. “Obviously, a bad decision there. I gotta be smarter and throw the ball away in that situation, third-and-goal at the one. So, I look at each play independently and learn something from each of them.”

It’s a media friendly answer but not one that there’s a lot of patience for right now. With the Giants having a week 1 game against Denver coming up soon, and Daniel Jones still looking like an unpolished quarterback, the decision to rest Jones until the third preseason game looks more questionable.

Furthermore, much of the Giants offense remains an unknown factor going into week 1. With injuries keeping out Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay right now, we have little to go off of when judging the chemistry between Jones and his new targets.

One thing is sure, however, and that is the pressure ramping up for Jones going into his third season. Being outplayed by Patriots rookie Mac Jones isn’t a good look, and failures at the quarterback position and on the offensive line may undo an offseason of PR efforts from Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge.

It’s a known fact that the preseason doesn’t mean much in isolation, but if the Giants and Jones specifically don’t pick things up in the break between now and week 1, the question of just how much the team has improved will quickly arise.