The New York Giants chose to start Daniel Jones before he was ready against the Cardinals, and the result was a loss which threw them out of first place in the division. This decision has been debated and it’s safe to say that there’s some merit on both sides of the argument. On one hand, Jones wasn’t ready to play again and his lackluster performance played into the team’s loss. On the other hand, the Giants don’t have a backup QB on a similar skill level and would have been forced to start Colt McCoy again if they hadn’t started Jones.
But as for the stance of the team itself, it looks like the important figures surrounding the decision are still confident that they made the right one.
“No, I have no regrets on playing him. We made a calculated decision based on what he could do as a player. We went out there, and as a team, we have to execute better,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters about the decision to start Jones.
Jones played for 90% of the team’s offensive snaps but threw for a season worst 11 completions on 21 attempts. In the passing yards statistic, he also had his second worst performance of the season behind his one in week six against Washington. While he avoided throwing an interception, he also threw for no touchdowns and lost one fumble after being sacked by former Giant Markus Golden.
It remains to be seen what the status of Jones is going into next week’s Sunday night game against the Browns, but with Cleveland having nine wins so far this season, they pose a tough challenge and the Giants will have far better odds of putting up a competitive performance if Jones is healthier than he was against Arizona.