On Sunday, Giants starting quarterback Daniel Jones got his first action of the preseason. Jones played the whole first half for New York against the Patriots, and there was some bad and some good.
The third-year quarterback threw a bad red zone interception as he attempted a pass across his body early in the second quarter. Later in that quarter, Jones made it right by throwing a beautiful 23-yard touchdown pass to TE Kaden Smith.
All summer long, Jones did not get hit, and he was happy for that to happen on Sunday.
“Yeah, it was good to be back out there on the field and feel the game, feel the pass rush and get hit a couple times,” Jones said on Wednesday. “Felt good to be back out there.”
At this point, Jones has been without many of his weapons. Some are old in Saquon Barkley, who is recovering from ACL surgery; some are new in WR Kenny Golladay and TE Kyle Rudolph. Jones is happy to have all those guys on the practice field together.
“It’s been good,” Jones said. “Like we’ve said, they’ve worked so hard to get back and are continuing to work hard with the trainers. It’s been good to have them on the field, and I know those guys are ready to work.”
As they enter the regular season, Jones believes the Giants’ offense will be able to do a lot different things in 2021.
“I think versatility,” Jones said about the offense. “First and foremost, it’s a tough, smart group. I think it starts up front; all those guys are tough, physical football players, and from there, we can attack a lot of different ways – downhill running the ball, vertically stretching the field, and getting the ball in space. I think that’s what we want to be as an offense is first, physical and tough, smart and an offense that’s versatile and can attack a lot of ways.”
If the weapons are healthy, and the offensive line, which looked shaky against New England, can be better, the Giants could have an explosive offense in 2021, but Jones has to protect the football. If he does that, New York could win the very winnable NFC East.
