Notebook: Giants regroup after loss to Eagles; Steelers up next

This is the third time Daboll replaced Jones in the fourth quarter of a decisive loss and Jones started the next game in each of the first two instances.

On Dec. 11, 2022, Tyrod Taylor took over at quarterback with the Giants trailing the Eagles in MetLife, 41-14. Taylor played the final two series in a 48-22 loss. The following week, Jones completed 21 of 32 passes and helped lead the Giants to a victory in Washington that was critical to making the playoffs that season.

In a Thursday night game in San Francisco on Sept. 21, 2023, Taylor took over with 3:18 remaining and the Giants trailing he 49ers, 30-12. Jones started the next game, at home on a Monday night vs. Seattle. He completed 27 of 34 passes but was sacked a career-high 10 times in a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks.

Jones hit 14 of 21 passes for 99 yards yesterday against the Eagles. He was sacked a season-high seven times and had a touchdown pass taken off the board when its recipient, rookie tight end Theo Johnson, was penalized for offensive pass interference. The Giants gained only 104 yards in the nine possessions in which Jones played. Daboll said he was trying to “spark” the offense by sending Lock into the game.

In his first regular-season action for the Giants, Lock threw eight passes, completing three (all to Wan’Dale Robinson) and was sacked once. The Giants netted 15 yards in his three series plus one play.

“I’m very transparent (about his decision),” Daboll said. “It was 11 minutes left, we were down 28-3, we didn’t have a lot of stuff going. So, we’re going to go with Drew, try to put a spark into the offense a little bit. And that was it. So, we just met for a while today, had a good meeting like we normally do. We’ll meet here after this press conference, go through all the tape and get ready for Pittsburgh.”

Daboll was asked if Jones made good decisions with the ball in the game.

“Yeah, and took care of it,” Daboll said. “There’s always a few in there where the defense might get you, or there’s a disguise and it looks like something and there’s a reason behind why we do what we do. But he’s taking care of the ball. He’s made the right decisions, for the most part. We’ll go ahead and work hard to get ready for a great Pittsburgh Steelers team.”

For the Giants to turn around their season, they must be more productive on offense. They are averaging 14.1 points a game, which ties them with New England for 30^th in the NFL. The Giants’ 290.7 yards-per-game are 27^th.

“Obviously, there are physical things on the field that need to be addressed, and you do that in the film room, you do that at practice,” Jones said. “There is also a mental piece of it and how we move forward, how we continue to build confidence and build belief and spirit. All of those things are important as we go forward.”

As is deciding what to do on the offensive line.

Ezeudu started his first game of the season at left tackle, after an opening was created by the season-ending foot injury suffered by Andrew Thomas. He gave up a couple of sacks early but seemed to settle in as the game progressed.

“I started off horrible,” Ezeudu said. “I was just overthinking and self-doubting myself. As the day went on, I had to get out of my own head. I know I’m better. I’ve gotten way better, and I have to go out there and play.

“I know my coaches have faith in me and my teammates have faith in me. I just have to continue to have faith in myself and not overthink stuff.”

Daboll is going to think about what to do up front for the Pittsburgh game.

“We’ll have that discussion here,” Daboll said. “We’ve watched the tape. We’re not there yet. I thought that early on there was a couple plays in there. One off of a jam and another one that could have been better. I think he (Ezeudu) settled in. It was his first time playing (this season). So, there’s some things he did better as the game went on and made some improvements. And we’ll see where we’re at here.”

At his postgame meeting with reporters, Daboll listed third down, red zone and explosive plays as areas the Giants have worked hard on and need to improve. They are 22^nd in the league converting third downs (34.7%, 35 of 101), 29^th scoring touchdowns from inside the 20-yard line (42.1%m 8 of 19) and have not gained more than 15 yards on any one of their 129 offensive plays in the last two games.

The Giants will tirelessly continue to address those and other issues.

“You never accept where we’re at,” Daboll said. “Whether you’re on top or obviously where we’re at right now, which is not good enough. I’ve clearly stated that. We’ll do everything we can do to improve the things we need to improve on to correct some of those issues that we’re having and ultimately score points. That’s the job. And we’re not getting that done, again, two of the big things we need to keep working on to correct to help those things are explosives and third down. And going back and evaluating those things, we’re just off a little bit here.”

Through seven games, that little bit has made a big difference for the Giants.