Notebook: What you need to know from Giants-Jets joint practice

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – NFL coaches and players routinely tout the benefits of facing unfamiliar opponents in joint practices, but perhaps the most significant takeaway for the Giants after a two-hour workout with the Jets was the importance of eliminating mistakes.

Several miscues dotted the productive two-hour session at the Jets’ facility here, and though it was a midweek workout and not a regular season – or even a preseason – game, they still rankled the visitors from Bergen County.

Offensively, the Giants dropped too many passes. Defensively, their secondary gave up several long completions, most notably a perfectly thrown touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson.

But it was mistakes in the two-minute drills at the end of the practice that most bothered the Giants and could have been crippling had they occurred in a game.

The Giants’ defense appeared to have had the Jets’ No. 1 offense stopped when Brian Burns tipped and then linebacker Bobby Okereke intercepted a Rodgers pass. But the play was nullified when rookie Dru Phillips was flagged for holding. Rodgers took advantage of the second chance and threw a touchdown pass to Wilson.

Jets second-team quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who played for the Giants the previous two seasons, got his group into the end zone on a deep throw to Jason Brownlee. That prompted both Taylor and star cornerback Sauce Gardner to wave goodbye to and yell at the Giants’ sideline.

“I mean, they can do that,” Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers said when asked specifically about Gardner’s gesture. “They won on the day. Their defense came out here and executed well. We beat ourselves today. So, it’s about really going back into our playbook, going back into trying to be us, trying to find this team that we trying to look for. It’s going back to the preparation.”

The Giants almost had a touchdown of their own, but Nabers dropped Daniel Jones’ pass up the left side.

“It bothered me pretty bad,” Nabers said. “If I had to do it again, I would work on something different on catching the ball. I’ll just go look at it, see what I can do better, and just practice that. Practice getting my eyes around faster and finding the ball in the air.”

The Giants’ first-round draft choice caught a few passes, but it was the ones he didn’t secure that stuck with him after the practice.

“I had too many drops,” Nabers said. “I had a lot of catches that could have been made on the field. So, that was about me. But it was a great competition day, a great workday.”

Nabers was asked if he will get right back to work tomorrow.

“I mean, that’s all I can do,” he said. “Look at the film, see how – see which better ways I can catch the ball. But continue to stay in the books.”

Jones conceded the Giants would have walked off the field with a better feeling had they scored in the final drill.

“I think if we finish that two-minute with a touchdown, we definitely feel different,” he said. “We all got to make plays. Stuff like that’s going to happen. We had a chance to come back and still convert, so we got to do that. But, yeah, certainly feels different if we convert that two-minute situation.

“For the most part (I) thought we executed well. Thought throughout the team drills we moved the ball and executed. Obviously, you want to finish a little better with the two-minute there at the end. Overall, (I) thought we executed well against a good defense.”

The Giants will play their final preseason game Saturday night against the Jets. Jones might not play, but with two-plus weeks of practice before the Sept. 8 regular-season opener vs. Minnesota, plenty of time remains for the Giants to approach what they believe is their capability.

“If the question is are we still improving, certainly,” Jones said. “I think we’re still building and growing. That’s the goal always. I think we’ve made considerable progress and I feel like we are in a good spot. There is a high sense of urgency to continue to improve and get to where we need to be. I feel like we made progress. I think we’re working and improving. We’re always looking to take the next step.”