Daniel Jones said he felt better on Sunday than at any point since he suffered two injuries in the past three weeks — a strained right hamstring and a sprained left ankle.
“I felt like I could move and get out of the pocket and do what I needed to do,’’ Jones said after Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Imagine if Jones did not feel this good. He was sacked six times, all in the second half, as his offensive line was put in the terrible position, trailing at halftime 20-3 and the Giants forced to throw far more often than they prefer to do.
“They deserve the credit,’’ Jones said of the Ravens. “They were pressuring and found different ways to bring it. I’ve got to do a better job of seeing it and getting the ball out in a lot of those situations whether they’re exposed in the back end and in coverage.’’
Jones was sacked on the very first play of the third quarter when Wayne Gallman failed to pick up a blitz. In a particularly dreadful sequence, Jones was sacked on three consecutive plays early in the fourth quarter. Rookie right tackle Matt Peart was beaten by Matthew Judon, the right side of the line failed to block Pernell McPhee and on the third sack, linebacker Chris Board was untouched on a blitz.
“They know we have to throw it in those situations, and they’re either going to play coverage or pressure you,’’ Jones said. “I’ve just got to do a better job of handling it and getting the ball out.”
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was able to travel with the team by train on Saturday and call the plays in this game. Garrett tested positive for COVID-19, missed last week’s loss to the Browns, with the play-calling duties taken over by tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens.
The Giants got a bad break late in the second quarter when a penalty flag was thrown on a third-down pass by Jones from the Baltimore 6-yard line. Rookie Austin Mack could not come away with the catch in the end zone but CB Marlon Humphrey was called for pass interference for holding Mack at the waist. That would have given the Giants a first down on the 1-yard line, but after a brief conversation, referee John Hussey announced there was no flag on the play.
“Look, they explained it, we’re not going to go ahead and have any kind of courtroom on the field and change what it was,’’ head coach Joe Judge said.
Graham Gano went 2-for-2 on field goals and now has hit 29 straight, matching the franchise record held by Josh Brown. … The Ravens early in the second quarter easily bypassed 100 rushing yards, giving them 38 consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards. That is the second-longest streak in NFL history, behind only the Steelers, who did it from 1974-77.
Eli Penny, the only fullback on the roster, was a surprise inactive when he was declared out with an illness (non-COVID-19 related). … WR Dante Pettis was active for the first time for the Giants. Pettis did not return kicks but he got his first reception for the Giants, hauling in a 20-yard pass on a seam route midway through the third quarter.
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