Daniel Jones intercepted twice in New York Giants’ loss

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones experienced a shaky start to his recovery from a torn ACL after throwing a pair of interceptions in the first half on Saturday in an 8-0 loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium and one of them was intercepted and returned to score the score of a touchdown.

By Jordan Raanan

Aug 17, 2024 09:40 PM

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had an unlucky start to his recovery from a torn ACL after throwing a pair of interceptions in the first quarter in a 28-10 defeat at the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, including one which was returned to score the score of a touchdown.

In the first quarter of action following the tear of the ACL in the right knee to November Jones was intercepted twice in his first three runs. He also almost throwing an interception on his first attempt of the game.

“Obviously first quarter didn’t go how we wanted it,” Jones informed the media. “Bad decision and a bad throw [on the interception for a touchdown].”

Jones completed the game with 138 yards, 11-of-18 passes with no touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He led a couple of scores in the 2nd quarter.

But it was the Giants the 2nd drive in the game when Jones was thrown erratically which cost him. He was pressured by Houston’s Derek Barnett on an attempt to drop back in the end zone, and was in danger of being tackled to secure safety. While Barnett resting on the ground, Jones irresponsibly floated a throw to tight end Theo Johnson in the left flat.

The ball struck Texans Safety Jalen Pitre with his chest near the Giants 6-yard limit. Pitre corralled the ball to make the easy interception and then sped off to the sideline to score the touchdown.

Jones admitted following the game that he could throw it to the receiver’s feet. That was a poor decision, and one that experienced quarterbacks should not make.

“Made a poor decision backed up,” coach Brian Daboll said.

The Giants following game, Jones tried to hit the well-protected wide receiver Jalin Hyatt on to the left sideline. Houston standout cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. He was running stride-for-stride and made a good diving catch.

This wasn’t a problem for Daboll as significantly. He thought that throwing was a good decision but his quarterback placed the ball a little too far to the inside. It also allowed Stingley to intercept the ball.

HTML0 – The Giants and Jones appeared to attribute the situation as a good player who was also a good.

Jones did rebound when his game ended at halftime, but at that point, the Texans mostly had backups for defensive. He connected deep on the left sideline to wide receiver Darius Slayton for the 44-yard touchdown that placed the ball on the 1-yard line the next game in the 2nd quarter. Devin Singletary ran through the goal for an extra point two minutes after the play.

Giants also added an additional field goal on two minutes of driving just prior to halftime.

“It felt good to execute and move the ball there in the two-minute drive,” Jones stated. “Guys made some big-time plays out there.”

One of them was new wide receiver Malik Nabers. He made four grabs with 54 yards in the match, including a stunning leaping grab close to the sideline in the second half to create for the goal on field.

No one was prepared to attribute Jones his slow start to the onset of rust. But Jones hadn’t been in a situation where he was playing since he injured his knee on Nov. 5 in the game against the Las Vegas Raiders. This was the first game played in a live arena, a full nine months later, in which defense allowed players to attack the quarterback.

The most important thing is that Jones performed well and only had one run of twelve miles. He didn’t take any major hits and was not hit. He came out of the game unscathed.

“I feel good physically. Knee felt really good,” Jones stated. “Excited to be out there. Grateful for all the people who helped me get to this point. All the doctors and trainers and staff that have helped. It was fun to be out there.”