One of the characteristics Giants general manager Dave Gettleman lists as absolutely essential for any quarterback — especially one who makes a living in the New York market — is the ability to face and overcome adversity.
“It’s more than just collecting data and looking at a guy’s physical talent,’’ Gettleman said. “It’s about his makeup.’’
The Giants learned something new — or at least had their opinions reinforced — about Daniel Jones’ makeup in Friday night’s 32-13 preseason victory over the Backup Bears at MetLife Stadium. After a sizzling debut last week, Jones started fast once again and then fizzled, twice losing the ball on fumbles. How would he respond to his first real struggles of the summer?
Fine. Just fine.
Jones finished up an eventful evening by completing his final eight passes on two scoring drives — four on each of the possessions — and his last throw was one to behold. He perfectly led T.J. Jones down the left sideline for a 15-yard touchdown hookup that put the Giants up 19-3 late in the second quarter and allowed the rookie quarterback to go into halftime on an upswing.
Jones put the ball on the hands of his receiver even though T.J. Jones only had one step on cornerback John Franklin.
Jones finished up 11 of 14 for 161 yards for a passer rating of 138.4. It was almost as efficient as Eli Manning, who got one series of work, completed all four of his passes before leaving the field after firing an 8-yard scoring pass to Bennie Fowler.
Jones connected on his first three passes, which at the time made him 8-for-8 in the preseason. He then lost two fumbles, with three consecutive incomplete passes in between the turnovers. Up and down and up again.
It was all going so well for Jones, as he fired 40 yards on a catch-and-run to Cody Latimer on the first play of the second quarter. The next play was a rough one, however, as Jones never got a secure handle on the snap and could not beat defensive end Jonathan Bullard to the loose ball. Jones, upset with himself, pounded the turf with his right hand.
Perhaps a bit flustered, Jones threw two passes into the ground on the next series. After a well-thrown pass was dropped by tight end Scott Simonson, Jones failed in ball security on third down.
Linebacker James Vaughters beat Chad Slade and had a clear lane to Jones, who did not get two hands on the ball, allowing Vaughters to rip it out of his grasp for a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery. At least Jones made the tackle on the play — and then finished with a flourish.
When a veteran of Manning’s ilk takes the field with the starters in a summer game and goes against a bunch of backups, he is supposed to get a drive going and take it down the field. That is precisely what Manning did.
Bears coach Matt Nagy showed what he thinks about these practice games by keeping every one of his starters on offense and defense on the sideline. All Manning could do is play against whoever lined up in a Chicago uniform and he did what is expected of him.
Manning went 4-for-4 for 42 yards and finished off a crisp and easy drive with a scoring pass to Fowler, who caught the ball on the 4-yard line and muscled past rookie cornerback Duke Shelley to burst into the end zone.
Manning started his night with a dart over the middle to Latimer for 20 yards and then relied on the running of Rod Smith, who started with Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman both sitting the game out.
“It was a good way to start the game with an explosive play,’’ Manning said. “We did a good job. We ran the ball well. We didn’t have many third downs going in. We finally had a third down in the red zone. They came out with an all-out blitz, and we hit Cody with a little underneath route. We got the touchdown there. It was a good way to finish that drive.’’
This was a much better showing than Manning’s three-and-out series in the opener against the Jets. On the next series, Jones received a rousing cheer when he took the field with the starting unit and went to work.
This was not the offensive support system Manning will be surrounded by Sept. 8 in Arlington, Texas. Barkley and tight end Evan Engram were held out as healthy scratches and receiver Sterling Shepard continues to heal from a fracture to the tip of his left thumb. Any attack without these three weapons is a mere facsimile of what the Giants hope to be.
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