HOUSTON — His quarterback played his first game after a long layoff and was able to bond with two of his top receivers. But football is about results, even when games don’t count in the standings, so Brian Daboll had other issues on his mind when he spoke to the media after the Giants’ 28-10 preseason loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
“It’s difficult to win a game when you lose the ball five times, you have to start with that,” Daboll said.
The two issues aren’t entirely separate. Playing in his first game since tearing his ACL on Nov. 5, Daniel Jones was involved in two of the turnovers, throwing interceptions on the Giants’ second and third offensive possessions. The first was an ill-advised pass that Jalen Pitre returned five yards for a touchdown. The second was a pass to Jalin Hyatt that Derek Stingley, Jr. intercepted at the 1-yard line with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
“It was a little hesitant at first,” Jones said. “Obviously the first quarter didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”
But Jones’ return remains the most significant development of the game for the Giants. Especially since he completed four passes for a team-best 54 yards to Malik Nabers, the first receptions for the sensational first-round draft pick, who showed off his athleticism on an acrobatic 21-yard reception. Jones and Darius Slayton combined for a 44-yard pass that set up the Giants’ only touchdown and capped a successful two-minute drive.
Jones, Slayton and Dexter Lawrence are members of the 2019 draft class and are the longest-tenured Giants.
“It was great, just like old times, like no time has passed,” said Slayton, who caught three passes for 59 yards. “Obviously, I like to see him back on the field and hopefully he can stay healthy, and we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”
Jones didn’t play in last week’s preseason opener and Nabers didn’t catch a pass, but Saturday it looked like they’d been playing together for years.
“We’re on the same page,” Nabers said. “The chemistry is there. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the chemistry is there on the field.”
Jones played each of the Giants’ five first-half possessions, covering 30 snaps. They were split evenly, with Jones under center and in the shotgun for 15 snaps each. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 138 yards, gained 12 yards on his only rushing attempt and was not sacked.
“One of the plans was to call some play action, throw a bunch of deep balls today just to see how our line performs (and) let it back off,” Daboll said. “Getting a little bit of a rush when it’s live and then trying to push the ball down the field, which has been something we’ve been emphasizing. … You have a plan going in. It’s a little different than a regular-season game, where you’re making plans and doing things like that.”
As Jones noted, his first quarter was eventful. He threw two incomplete balls—including one to Nabers on the game’s first third down—as the Giants went three-and-out and took the game’s first possession. After a stop on fourth down, they took the next possession at their own six-yard line. Two plays later, Jones returned to the end zone, where he was hugged by defensive end Derek Barnett. He threw the ball anyway, which Pitre easily intercepted and ran the short distance to the end zone.
“Bad decision and bad throw,” Jones said. “I think in a situation like that, obviously you’re tackled in the end zone, so an intentional touchdown on the ground is a safety. So just make sure you throw it to his feet, so there’s no chance of intentionally touching the ball. Obviously, you can’t take a sack out there in the end zone.”
Daboll said Jones made a “bad decision … we’ll evaluate it. That’s what these games are for.”
Six plays into the Giants’ next possession, they got a first down at the Texans 33-yard line. Hyatt appeared to have a head start on Stingley, but the cornerback jumped and intercepted the ball.
“I left the ball inside, it was just a bad throw,” Jones said. “In that situation, you have to miss the ball outside when you throw it forward.”
For the second straight game, the Giants scored all of their points in the second quarter. Two plays after Slayton’s long reception, Devin Singletary scored on a 1-yard run.
“It was good to finish that drive like that to get a touchdown,” Daboll said.
After the Texans took a 14-7 lead, the Giants took over at their own 23-yard line with 3:43 left in the first half. They drove to the Houston 13-yard line before Graham Gano kicked a 31-yard field goal.
“I thought we made things happen overall in the second quarter, executed well and moved the ball,” Jones said. “I was happy with how we responded in the second quarter.”
The Giants’ other turnovers came from backups, with backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, wide receiver John Jiles and running back Lorenzo Lingard all turning over the ball on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.
“We don’t give ourselves many chances when we lose the ball,” Daboll said. “That’s obviously something we have to improve on.”
Despite those mistakes, the Giants’ overall picture looks much brighter, with Jones having passed his first game test in more than nine months. Daboll wouldn’t say whether Jones would play in the final preseason game next week against the Jets. The regular season begins Sept. 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.
“First game back after a little break,” Daboll said. “He struggled for a first down. He did some good things, but obviously we can all do better. It’s his first game back and you’re trying to get ready for a game that’s not far away.”
Jones will be sharper as he shakes off the rust. While disappointed by the interceptions, he knows the bigger news is that he’s back on the field.
“I feel good physically, I feel really good and I’m excited to be out there,” he said. “I’m grateful for everyone that helped me get here. All the doctors, trainers and staff that we have here that helped me. It was fun to be out there. I didn’t start off perfect, like I said, but we’ve been moving forward and I feel good physically.”
This is really the news of the day.
