TWO BAD FOR
Jones, Saquon stifled by Steelers as Blue drops Judge’s debut
Joe Judge’s Giants showed fight Monday night, but toughness only takes a team so far. And grit can’t cancel out the kind of Jones turnovers that Judge on Monday called “not acceptable.” It can’t offset the absence of a run game. It won’t mean wins in 2020 unless Jones makes better decisions and Barkley finds more running lanes thantheydidinaseason-opening 26-16 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I’m proud of the way the team fought for 60 minutes,” Judge said. “We’ve gotta stop with the turnovers, eliminate the unnecessary penalties, do better at the end of the half and in the red (zone).
“I like the way (Jones) played aggressive,”theheadcoachsaidofhisQB, who completed 26-of-41 passes for 279 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. “He stood in the pocket, played confident, delivered good, accurate passes. He had two throws he wants back, and that’s something we can’t have happen.”
Jones, in fairness, had no help from the ground game in coordinator Jason Garrett’s offense.
Dominant edge rusher Bud Dupree and the Steelers’ defense teed off on the Giants’ revamped offensive line and rendered Barkley a non-factor. The dynamic back had 13 carries for zero yards late in the third quarter and 15 for six yards in the game.
The Giants had 29 total rushing yards. Jones was their leading rusher with 22. And Barkley showed clear frustration at one point gritting his teeth on the bench.
“ImeanIguessIprobablyshoweda little emotion on my face,” Barkley said. “I’m human at the end of the day. The moral of the story is we didn’t win the game. And that’s what I’m about is trying to find ways to win the game. I gotta be better.”
But Jones’ missed opportunities in the red zone are what killed what had looked early like a possible upset bid led by a feisty new Giant defense.
The backbreaker was Jones’ second interceptionwith3:25remaininginthe third quarter on 2nd and 3 from the Steelers’ 4-yard line.
The second-year QB — the first not named Eli Manning to start a Giant season opener since 2004 — had directed a magnificent 18-play, 87-yard drive with the Giants trailing, 16-10.
The drive started at the Giants’ 9yard line. Jones had completed 9-of-11 passes for 67 yards passing, rushed twice for 10 yards, converted 4-of-5 third downs and a fourth down, and handed to Barkley five times for 10 yards.
It was the type of drive Giants fans wished they could have been in the empty MetLife Stadium stands to witness: a possible coming-of-age, go-ahead touchdown drive against one of the NFL’s best defenses from 2019.
And then Jones made the same kind of ill-advised mistake that defined the lowest moments of his rookie year: he rolled left, held the ball too long looking for a play, and took a hit from Dupree as he threw a desperation heave for the end zone and into the arms of Pittsburgh’s Cam Heyward.
“Obviously a play I’d like to have back,” Jones said. “That’s a costly mistake after a long drive. I think I played good at times and bad at times.”
Jones did throw two touchdown passes to Darius Slayton of 41 and seven yards, picking up right where that connection left off from their shared rookieyear.ButthesecondTDcamein garbage time, and Jones’ first half was defined by missed opportunities.
The first came when Steelers returner Diontae Johnson muffed an early Riley Dixon punt, and Devante Downs recovered for the Giants at Pittsburgh’s 3-yard line.
A Barkley run and two Jones passes failed to punch it in, so the Giants settled for a Graham Gano field goal and an early lead.
Jones’ 41-yard TD to Slayton in the early second quarter, with good pass protection, lifted the Giants back to a 10-3 lead after a Chris Boswell field goal had matched them three apiece.
But then Jones’ very next pass on the Giants’ ensuing drive was picked off by a leaping T.J. Watt, giving the Steelers starting field position at New York’s 36-yard line. And Pittsburgh punchedinthefirstoftwoJuJuSmithSchuster touchdown catches to draw within 10-9 on a risky all-out blitz.
“A nineteen-play drive and come away with no points, especially in the low red (zone),” Judge said. “Not acceptable.”
Coordinator Pat Graham’s defense actuallywaswaybetterandmorecompetitive than the Giants’ 2019 version.
Middle linebacker Blake Martinez led the Giants with 12 tackles and looked fast, despite dealing with a mystery lower-body injury late in camp.
The defensive line was more disruptive: Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence each recorded a sack, and Williams had a second hit on Ben Roethlisberger to snuff a drive and force a field goal. Lorenzo Carter had seven tackles and created some pressure.
Roethlisberger still finished 21-of-32 for 229 yards and three TDs, though, including a devastating end of first half drive of eight plays and 78 yards that culminated in a 13-yard TD pass to James Washington.
Corner James Bradberry got picked trying to get past fellow corner Darnay Holmes, and then safeties Adrian Colbert and Julian Love failed to tackle Washington at the goal line. And Smith-Schuster got free of Bradberry on another pick-type play for a second TD midway through the fourth quarter to ice the game at 26-10.
Rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas seemed to hold his own in pass protection, but Jones was sacked three times, including once in the second half on a missed Barkley block. That mistake led to a punt and Smith-Schuster’s second TD to seal the deal.
Tight end Evan Engram had a brutal game that included a dropped pass, an offensive pass interference, several missed blocks, and finished with two catches for nine yards on seven targets. Barkley dropped an early pass, as well.
Judge’s team did play with a refreshingly competitive attitude. But Jones’ turnovers and the offense’s missed opportunities devastated them.
“As Coach Judge told us,” Martinez said, “the big jump from Week 1 to Week 2 is if we’re a good team, show up.”