Daniel Jones's second preseason start didn't quite get away from him, but the ball did, twice.
The New York Giants rookie quarterback saw more than one drive on Friday night, his second game under center for Big Blue, and showed the best and worst of his abilities in a win over the Chicago Bears.
In five drives, Jones went 11-for-14 for 161 yards and a beautiful touchdown pass to T.J. Jones, which came on his last march of the first half and his evening.
But in between, Jones saw two drives end at his own hands. On New York's second drive, Jones followed a brilliant 40-yard deep ball to Cody Latimer by fumbling the next snap from starting center Jon Halapio and losing possession at Chicago's 24-yard line.
"The exchange, you know, I just got out of there too quick," Jones said of the turnover. "I've got to stay in and get the snap. We had a good drive going, so we cant let that happen."
On his fourth drive, Jones was strip-sacked by a charging James Vaughters after holding the ball too long on a dropback, this time in New York's territory. Chicago missed its ensuing field goal attempt, so the error wasn't immediately costly, but Giants coach Pat Shurmur sure took notice.
"Guy got beat and swatted it out of his hand. That's it. You have to secure it," Shurmur said of Jones' second fumble, per SNY. "I don't think he ever took a snap under center in college, so it's just part of the growing.
"But he didn't panic. He dropped the ball a couple times, didn't call his parents, just went back to work and a good job of getting us in the end zone."
Jones' up-and-down evening came after he relieved a near-perfect Eli Manning, who showed zip and mobility during his one scoring drive. The 38-year-old Giants starter completed all four of his attempts for 42 yards and a TD strike to Bennie Fowler, a showing that banished calls for his head back to the back-alley barstools from whence they came.
Jones won't take New York's Week 1 starting job from Manning. But the rookie has flashed great ability in the preseason, compiling a 16-of-19, 183 yards, 2 TD stat line through two weeks.
On Friday night, Jones experienced a brief setback in the backfield, but for the rookie, it wasn't how he started but how he finished that mattered.
"That's the way the game goes sometime," Jones told reporters. "You've got to bounce back. I'm glad we were able to score some points."
