Giants' Daniel Jones struggles in preseason debut, throws two brutal picks

Kevin Hickey

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Giants' Daniel Jones struggles in preseason debut, throws two brutal picks image

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones made his preseason debut against the Houston Texans on Saturday at NRG Stadium.

Making his first start since tearing his ACL in November, Jones' return went about as poorly as possible. The sixth-year quarterback played the entire first half of the game along with the remainder of the starters, which was the plan from the start.

In total, Jones played five drives with the starting offense. He completed 11-of-18 passes for 138 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 45.4 passer rating.

He certainly looked more comfortable in the second quarter, though that was after the Texans pulled their starters.

It's understandable that Jones would look rusty in live action for the first time since suffering the season-ending injury, but this was probably close to a worst-case scenario.

The Giants started the game with the ball. The offense went three-and-out, and Jones' first throw was nearly intercepted by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who jumped a comeback route on a target to rookie Malik Nabers.

The wheels fell off on the second drive. Facing pressure in his own end zone after the defense stood strong to force a turnover on downs, Jones made the incredible baffling decision to avoid a throwaway.

It resulted in a pick-six for Texans safety Jalen Pitre.

Regardless of the fact that he's knocking off the rust from an injury, this is a decision that a sixth-year quarterback cannot continue to make.

The third drive was a little better, including a connection with Nabers on a 14-yard throw — albeit it was a little high toward the sideline.

But then, Jones took a deep shot to Jalin Hyatt. Stingley got his revenge on this one. With inside leverage, Jones failed to get the ball over Stingley, resulting in an easy interception, his second of the day.

It's nice to see the Giants looking to throw the ball deep more, and this throw is more excusable than the pick-six. This is a throw that Jones can make with more reps, but it's a poor throw nonetheless.

The fourth drive was much better, though. Jones led the Giants offense 63 yards for a touchdown that was set up by a beautiful 44-yard deep shot to Darius Slayton. If one thing remains true, the connection between Jones and Slayton hasn't missed a step.

This set up an eventual touchdown from Devin Singletary at the goal line to get the Giants on the board.

It will be interesting to see what the Giants have planned for Jones and the starters in the preseason finale, but it's clear there's a lot of rust to be knocked off.

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Kevin Hickey

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Hickey was previously the managing editor of USA Today's Colts Wire. His work is also featured as a fantasy football analyst for The Huddle. A career .232 hitter, he is an avid reader of Spider-Man comics, an admirer of the James Webb Space Telescope, and a keen enthusiast of Ma’s sauce. You can find him on Twitter/X @KevinHickey11