Giants’ Judge on starting Jones against Arizona: ‘There is no regrets, there’s no second-guessing’

After missing a game due to a hamstring injury, Giants QB Daniel Jones returned on Sunday against the Cardinals, and unfortunately for him, it was a struggle.

Jones and Colt McCoy were under pressure all day against Arizona and were sacked eight times, including five by Cardinals LB Haason Reddick. Jones finished the game 11/21 for 127 yards with no touchdowns and three fumbles, one of which was lost. Ultimately, New York(5-8) would fall to Arizona 26-7 at MetLife Stadium.

New York totaled 159 offensive yards, their lowest total since they gained 150 yards in a 38-0 loss at Carolina on Sept. 22, 2013. In addition, New York’s seven points are their lowest total since they were shut out by the Tennessee Titans, 17-0, on Dec. 16, 2018.

Jones seemed limited on Sunday and finished the game without a rushing attempt for the first time in his career.

On Monday, Giants head Joe Judge was still comfortable with his decision to start Jones against Arizona.

“I just go back to we saw he could protect himself in the pocket and move fluidly through the pocket,” Judge said. “He could get rid of the ball if he needed. If he had to eat a sack at some point, that was something we were going to go into the game plan, knowing it could happen. Obviously, there are some things that come up in the game. You get hit in the pocket at certain points. He is no different than the other 31 quarterbacks in the NFL. They all deal with the same risks every time they drop back in the pocket. To answer you directly, he was able to protect himself yesterday. No, there is no regrets, there’s no second-guessing. We took a lot of time discussing a lot of things, scenarios with doctors, coaches, making sure it was the best position for the team. That’s the decision we went with and move forward.”

If Judge feels Jones is healthy and looks the way he did in practice last week, Jones will start next Sunday night against Cleveland.

“Yeah, if Daniel is healthy to play and he looked the way he did in practice last week, I’d have no hesitation of playing Daniel at all,” Judge said. “We made a calculation. We have a lot of confidence in Colt (McCoy). This has nothing to do with Colt. But there’s also a commitment we’ve made to Daniel as our quarterback and how we’re running this offense. We have confidence in all of our players. But if he’s healthy enough to go out there and protect himself, and we don’t feel he’s putting himself in greater danger to be injured worse, and he’s going to give the team a competitive advantage of going out there, then we’re going to play him.

If Jones looks the way he did against Arizona, McCoy gives New York the best chance to defeat Cleveland. Jones needs to be able to move and use his legs. He did not have that against Arizona, and it showed. The Giants are fighting for supremacy in the NFC East, and after the loss to Arizona, they are a game behind the first-place Washington Football Team(6-7), so these final three games are huge for the Giants, and they need Jones to be at his best for them to win those games.