Daniel Jones gives Giants best chance to win, coach Brian Daboll says

Brian Daboll was both consistent and emphatic.

Yes, the Giants are in a predicament offensively, but their issues are not solely because of the performance of Daniel Jones.

“I think he gives us the best chance [to win next Monday night’s game against the Steelers], number one,” Daboll said in a Zoom interview Monday afternoon.

Daboll’s advocacy for Jones came less than 24 hours after the Giants’ coach benched his starting quarterback for the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 28-3 loss to the Eagles at MetLife Stadium. After the game, Daboll said he decided to switch from Jones to Drew Lock “just to create a spark” offensively.

Before the change, the Giants ran 44 plays totaling 104 yards in nine series in the first three quarters and scored three points on Greg Joseph’s 38-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Under Lock, the offense gained 14 yards in 12 plays spanning four series.

Tom Brady replacing Drew Bledsoe as the Patriots’ starting quarterback midway through the fourth quarter of their 10-3 loss to the Jets at Foxboro Stadium on Sept. 23, 2001, this was not.

For a number of reasons.

Starting with the fact that Jones, who was under siege from the Eagles’ pass rush, did manage to complete 14 of 21 passes for 99 yards and also ran five times for 20 yards. Most important, he did not commit a turnover despite being sacked seven times.

“I thought there were a lot of plays that he did exactly what he needed to do,” Daboll said. “And then, look, there were some plays where it wasn’t just on Daniel; it was a collection of things. It wasn’t just one person or protection or a route. It was a collective deal.”

As such, Jones, who was decidedly unhappy with Daboll’s decision to sit him when he met with reporters at his locker Sunday, will get all of the first-team reps in practice this week.

“I made that change when it was 28-3, 11 minutes left in the fourth to try to create some type of spark,” Daboll said when asked if Lock could see any practice time with the starting unit. “Obviously, it wasn’t going great. That’s not all on Daniel, trust me. So again, I told him right after the game . . . what I told you guys. He’s the starter, and we’ll work on improving the things we need to improve.”

Daboll’s comments after the game echoed those of Lock, who had an inkling that the coach might have been contemplating making a change at the sport’s most vital position on Sunday.

“He told me, ‘You’re going to go in, try to get something going,’ ” Lock said. “It felt good to be back out there, get the jitters out a little bit, play football.”

How would Lock assess his performance?

“I’m obviously trying to fulfill the expectations of the guys around me, wanting to play well for them, but I’m also wanting to fulfill my expectations of what I can do,’’ he said. “Regardless of what type of situation you get put in, at the end, it’s tough. It is what it is. That’s what I signed up to do. We go out, sling it a little bit. Try to get something going, try to get something rolling.

“It just is what it is, really. You got to go out there and try to throw it around when you’re in a situation like that.”

Unhappy Nabers?

Daboll — who declined to answer what, if any, conversations he may have had with team president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch after the game — dismissed a line of questioning about rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers being frustrated with his usage during Sunday’s loss.

Nabers, who was targeted eight times, caught four passes for 41 yards. Afterward, he said he “was open.”

When he was informed of Nabers’ statement, Daboll said, “When [we] lose a game like that, I hope people are frustrated.”

When it subsequently was pointed out that Nabers’ statement was in response to a postgame question about an unbalanced passing game, Daboll said he respects “Malik. I respect all our guys. Again, I don’t want to imply as to what he said or what he didn’t say. If he said he was open, he was open quite a bit.”