Tom Brady might have been on to something.
Brady used a hypothetical interception by Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as part of an example of how he’s going to try to strike the right balance as a game analyst this season and the Giants quarterback gave some other announcers a chance to show off their approach during his return to game action on Saturday.
Jones threw a pass directly to Texans corner Derek Stingley on the first offensive play of the game, but Stingley dropped the ball to give the Giants more bites at the apple. Jones hit a tight end screen on second down and then saw first-round pick Malik Nabers drop a pass on third down to end the first possession.
On the second play of the second possession, Jones should have thrown the ball away from his own end zone but tried to force a ball to tight end Theo Johnson and Texans safety Jalen Pitre picked it off for an easy touchdown. Jones was then intercepted by Stingley on the third possession of the game. Stingley made a good play, but the ball to Jalin Hyatt could have been in a better location as well.
Jones’s day would get better. He hit Darius Slayton for a 44-yard gain to the Houston 1-yard-line to set up a Devin Singletary touchdown on the fourth possession. Nabers then made up for his drop with an acrobatic 21-yard catch near the sideline as Jones piloted the team to a field goal just before halftime. Nabers finished the half with four catches for 54 yards after going without a catch in the preseason opener.
A 13-yard scramble earlier in the game showed Jones isn’t going to be afraid to use that part of his game coming off a torn ACL and he finished the day 11-of-18 for 138 yards.
The final two drives came against Texans reserves, but the positives were needed after such a rough start. Jones and the Giants will have to work on eliminating those while incorporating more of what worked in the second quarter.