New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is back to being a lightning rod on Friday morning, taking heat from fans and analysts over two or three underthrown passes in a 20-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The throws warrant criticism but the blame, as it usually does, seems a bit over-the-top. After all, Jones has performed at a much higher level in recent weeks, including Thursday night’s game when he completed 29 of his 40 pass attempts for 281 yards and one hail mary interception.
That’s something head coach Brian Daboll recognizes. He had nothing but praise for his quarterback following the Week 4 defeat.
“Three games in a row, I’m proud of the young man. He’s made good decisions. He’s thrown the ball where he needs to throw the ball,” Daboll told reporters. “I thought, for three games he’s been locked in. He’s played well. He’s seeing the field. He’s delivered the ball where he needs to. Again, we had some opportunities to continue drives today, as well. I’m proud of how he’s performed, how he’s prepared. He’s done a nice job for us.”
Specifically, Daboll was impressed with a fourth-down pass to rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers late in the fourth quarter. The ball was dropped and Nabers left the game with a concussion.
“It was a perfect throw, and as he was going to the ground, the ball kind of got jarred out there. But he put it right where he needed to put it on the scramble and it was close,” Daboll said.
Although there were multiple throws where Jones seemed to come up short, Daboll insisted he had only missed one.
Jones’ teammates also seemed to view his Thursday night performance through a different lens.
“He’s been really efficient. He’s been taking care of the ball extremely well, putting us in the right positions to score points,” offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. said. “He’s got to keep doing the same thing, and he’s feeling very comfortable with this offense. . . I’m really happy with how he’s been playing so far.”
“You see his confidence growing, and you can tell he’s just getting more and more comfortable at taking command of the offense and just getting the ball to the guys that need to get it,” wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson added.
As usual with Jones, the opinions inside the building differ greatly from those outside the building.
