When New York Giants took quarterback Daniel Jones with the No.6 overall pick in last year’s draft, the organization believed they set themselves on the position for the foreseeable future. But things don’t look great a season and a half into Jones’ tenure under center at MetLife Stadium.
Jones had another poor performance against Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, throwing two interceptions in the second half and missing open receivers on multiple occasions. This directly contributed to Giants’ 25-23 loss in what seemed to be a very winnable game.
The first few drives that Jones put together seemed promising, and Giants looked like they were in a driving seat at the end of the first half with a 6-14 lead. However, the 23-year-old Duke product crumbled under pressure in the second half, making bad decisions that helped Tampa Bay turn around the game.
Buccaneers capitalized on Jones and Giants’ mistakes in the fourth, scoring a TD and a field goal early on to put themselves in a great position to win regardless of what their opponents end up doing.
The Giants got close to forcing overtime when Jones found Golden Tate in the endzone with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. Still, they failed to convert on a 2-point attempt and had to walk away with another crushing loss.
Daniel Jones finished the contest by completing 61.0 percent of his passes and throwing for 256 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. With these latest two interceptions, Jones now has 21 in 20 career starts to go with 15 fumbles that were recovered by the opposing team.
Jones now only trails famous Chargers’ bust Ryan Leaf, who had 41 turnovers in his first 20 games. Still, for better or for worse, the Giants believe they still have their QB of the future in him.
“Daniel is our quarterback, clearly put,” said Giants’ head coach Joe Judge after the game. “He made a lot of big plays in our last drive. I like the way Daniel’s fighting right now.”
