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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Quarterback Daniel Jones has been benched already this season, he isn’t playing his best football and the New York Giants are in last place in the NFC East. He’s “frustrated” with how this season has gone.
The Giants (2-6) are coming off a 26-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that had Jones speaking afterward in a sharp tone that deviated from his norm. It was moments after coach Brian Daboll disclosed that his quarterback had failed to shift tight end Theo Johnson over to the right side in order to execute a chip block on All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt, who had a strip sack on the play.
It contributed to the Giants’ third straight loss.
“After the game and when it doesn’t go well when you have a game like that,” Jones said, “you’re going to be frustrated.”
The Giants’ starting quarterback doesn’t believe it’s reason to panic or overreact. That same frustration can be channeled in a much more positive manner.
New York hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
“Yeah, I think so. I think everybody feels the same way,” Jones said. “I think not finishing several of these games and not getting the results that we want, yeah, it can drive everybody to work harder and to put ourselves in a position to finish those games.”
The results are going to need to come soon for Jones. His status as the Giants’ starter already feels shaky considering the team tried to trade up in the draft for his replacement earlier this year and he was sent to the bench in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago.
This week, New York hosts one of the quarterbacks whom it was eyeing in the draft when they play the Commanders and rookie Jayden Daniels, who was selected second overall earlier this year.
Considering the Giants’ struggles, Daboll doesn’t seem to mind his quarterback being frustrated from the recent string of events.
“I want him to be him, but I don’t mind emotion,” Daboll said.
There was an overflow of emotion on the field Monday night in Pittsburgh. Jones was seen yelling and gesturing after a trick play gone wrong for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. He was especially animated on the sideline afterward as well.
It was on the next possession that Watt had the strip sack.
Daboll and Jones have both said they talked about not getting Johnson to the other side of the formation before their news conferences. It was still out of the norm for the usually tight-lipped Daboll to expose a player of such an error.
“I mean that’s what happened,” Jones said. “So, I understand that.”
Jones went 24-of-38 passing for 264 yards with no touchdowns, an interception on the final drive and the lost fumble in the fourth quarter. He has now thrown just six touchdown passes and five interceptions in eight starts this season. The Giants are 31st in the NFL with an average of 14.6 points per game.
Jones still seemed a bit more animated Monday night than usual. He didn’t think it was all that unusual though.
The sixth-year starter mentioned he generally tries to curb the outward emotion because he believes it helps him think better and play better. There is a time and place for everything, but he thinks he plays best when his emotions are under control.
It doesn’t mean there isn’t a fierce competitor under it all.
“Yeah, I’ve always played really hard. I’ve always played tough. I’ve played with an edge,” Jones said. “I believe in that strongly, and that’s something I always do every time I step on the field. How I show that, how much I yell, I don’t think that’s directly correlated with that. I always play with an edge and play with a chip. And there’s a time and place to maybe show some of that. But it doesn’t change how hard I play, or it doesn’t change my edge at all.”
Daboll said he sees a steady quarterback who doesn’t ride the emotional roller coaster. He has seen that again this week.
He hasn’t seen any frustration this week from his quarterback as they prepare for the division-rival Commanders.
“Consistent. He’s usually pretty level-headed,” Daboll said. “We look at the things that we did well, which he was certainly part of them, go through some of the things that we can fix, and then move on to the next week. That’s what you need to do.”