Daniel Jones and the New York Giants face a long trip back from Germany and a bye week to think about what’s going wrong in a tough 2-8 season.
There’s a lot to think about.
“I’m not sure it’s one thing consistently. I think several things, and we’ve got to every game be dialed in on all those critical things that determine winning and losing,” Jones said after the Giants suffered their first loss in an international regular-season game in Germany.
The Giants got off to a slow start and didn’t score until the third quarter, losing 20-17 in overtime to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Jones was sacked twice and threw two interceptions during his team’s fifth straight loss.
Down 17-7, Jones ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, completing a 13-play, 96-yard drive that took almost seven minutes. He then led a 12-play drive that tied the game with a 42-yard field goal from Graham Gano with 5 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
“It’s very frustrating. Came up short, obviously hurt ourselves a lot. Turnovers were a critical factor in the game. Very frustrating,” Jones said.
When Giants edge rusher and former Panther Brian Burns sacked Panthers quarterback Bryce Young on the first drive of the game, it seemed like the Panthers might be in for a tough day.
But instead, the Panthers led 10-0 at halftime after Young’s 5-yard pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders and a 53-yard field goal from Eddy Pineiro. The Giants, who came into the game with the fewest points in the league (139), didn’t score until running back Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
“We’ve got to get off to a faster start and stay on the field, sustain drives in the first half,” Jones said.
Tracy fumbled on the Giants’ first play in overtime, and Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell recovered the ball at the 23-yard line. Pineiro then kicked a 36-yard field goal to win the game for Carolina.
Giants coach Brian Daboll said he never thought about benching Jones at halftime. “I thought we could get something going, which we did,” he said.
With two weeks off before their next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 24, the Giants have time to regroup.
“Obviously we’re not where we want to be,” Daboll said. “We’ll evaluate things in the bye week, do the things we need to do.”
