As Giants look to bounce back, Daniel Jones says: 'Have to get back out there, can't dwell on it'

Coach Brian Daboll called it a miscommunication.

Quarterback Daniel Jones said he “heard the play wrong.”

Whatever the case, this is what happens when an NFL season goes sideways, at least temporarily.

With 1:39 left in the first half Monday night, the Giants had a first down at their own 25 after Seattle had scored to take a 14-3 lead.

The first-down play was a pass from Jones to running back Matt Breida for a loss of a yard.

Then in no-huddle, Jones tried to connect with receiver Wan’Dale Robinson but the pass was incomplete.

On third-and-11, instead of a pass play Breida took a handoff and ran for four yards. Seattle called a timeout with 1:08 left.

On the sideline, Daboll was furious about the third down play, and Jones didn’t look thrilled, either.

Daboll described the play as “a miscommunication.”

Jones, on Wednesday at his locker, said, “Yeah, I heard the play wrong. So, called the wrong play.”

Jones confirmed that he has the freedom to check out of any play.  

Did Jones hear a run called? “Yeah, I heard the play wrong,” he said.

And so went the media’s weekly interview session with the quarterback.

Things only got worse for Jones in the second half of the 24-3 loss.  He threw a 97-yard pick-six with 1:19 to play in the third quarter which represented another defining moment. Especially as it led to the tablet flip heard around the NFL.

Jones said it didn’t bother him.

“Like I said, we were all frustrated and can't afford to make that mistake,” he said. “You’ve got to put it away immediately and get back out there and play ball. Can’t afford to dwell on any of that very long. Obviously, after the game, you try to learn from it and see where you went wrong.”

A lot has gone wrong for the Giants lately.

“I’ve just got to play better,” Jones said. “Got to make better decisions.”

In fairness, Jones was often engulfed by Seahawks.

Seattle totaled 11 sacks, the most allowed by the Giants since team sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1963.

Jones was sacked 10 times, the most for a quarterback since Matthew Stafford was sacked 10 times with Detroit in 2018. Wide receiver Parris Campbell took the other one.

“I think there are some situations where I can get the ball out of my hands quicker,” Jones said, “and put our offense in a better situation.”

But not from his back.

There may be help on the way.

Daboll seemed open Wednesday to getting more snaps for Sterling Shepard, the veteran receiver among Giants.  

“I mean, I’ve got a lot of confidence and faith in Shep,” Jones said. “I’ve played a lot of football with him. We’ve got a lot of good players, a lot of good receivers, and my job is to distribute the ball to them.”

And Daboll said he had “no issue” with tight end Darren Waller voicing frustration after being targeted just once in the first half on Monday night.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Darren so, like I said, we can all do better,” Daboll said. “There is a lot of things to improve on, obviously, so that’s what we are going to try to do, but I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

It’s hard to imagine the Giants turning their season around if Waller isn’t a significant part of it.

On Sunday, the Giants will play a Dolphins team that hung 70 points on the Broncos in Week 3.

For these Giants, the trick isn’t just to not get embarrassed. It’s to figure out how to win the game.

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.