With just a few minutes left in Wednesday’s joint practice with the Jets, Malik Neighbors should have caught a deep pass that fell out of the sky from Daniel Jones down the left sideline.
It was one of the few golden opportunities for a Giants offense that was far from dynamic that day, and they left the field at Florham Park feeling like they could have done more.
What if Neighbors made the catch and the Giants ended practice with an end zone celebration?
“It definitely feels different to end those two minutes with a touchdown,” Jones said. “Everybody had to make plays. Those things happen. We had a chance to turn it around and still score, so we had to do it. But it certainly feels different to end those two-minute situations with a score.”
Yeah, well that didn’t happen: Neighbors caught a pass to start the two-minute drill, then ran past cornerback DJ Reed on second down.
Neighbors, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and who has looked like a rookie sensation this summer, tried to chase the ball but couldn’t secure it.
“It bothers me a lot,” Neighbors said, sounding a little dejected. “If I had to do it again, I would probably do a different practice of catching the ball, just looking at the ball and seeing what I can do better, practicing that throw again, practicing that play, looking around quicker and finding the ball in the air.”
“I didn’t have to go back to get it. I just kind of lost sight of the ball when I got my eyes back to the other side of my shoulder and found it later. It just dropped. I guess I should have tried harder to catch it.”
The Giants still had two more shots to score.
Jones found Darius Slayton on the left sideline, but Slayton was ruled out of bounds, a claim Slayton disagreed with.
On fourth down, Jones was unable to connect on a pass with Slayton in the end zone.
This game was always going to be a test for Jones and the Giants, facing one of the best defenses in the league.
The Giants tried to attack with their running game, and Jones didn’t take many risks, mostly moving the ball with quick and short hits.
On the team’s first snap of the period, Jones dropped back to pass but was nearly sacked by Quinnen Williams and Javon Kinlaw.
After that, the defense mostly held up, but the synergy in the passing game was lost a bit.
Neighbors finally broke free from cornerback Sauce Gardner for a big gain, but that was during a 7-on-7 period. In the 11-on-11 period, he recorded two pass catches and one crucial miss at the end.
“We dropped too many balls,” Neighbors said, “a lot of balls that we could have caught on the field, so that’s my fault. But it was a great day of competition and a great day of work.”
Jones unofficially completed 12 of 18 passes.
His best moments came on a short touchdown flip to tight end Chris Manhertz and a scoring run where he showed his instincts by breaking out of the pocket and making a sharp cut to his left to get past the Jets defense.
Coach Brian Daboll seemed especially pleased with the decision and how the play turned out.
There was a screen for running back Devin Singletary, and Daboll’s scheme broke Wan’Dale Robinson free as Robinson made his move, found open space on the right side and completed the pass.
Jones got on his back foot on a surefire fake play and shoved the ball into the hands of promising rookie tight end Theo Johnson, but Johnson dropped the ball.
Jones, playing his first game since tearing his right ACL on Nov. 5, got off to a shaky start in last Saturday’s preseason loss at Houston, allowing interceptions on his second and third offensive series (the first was interception six).
This game against the Jets was also challenging.
“For the most part, I thought we played well,” Jones said. “Throughout team practices, I thought we moved the ball and made plays. I thought overall we played well against a good defense.”
“If the question is, are we still improving? Absolutely. We’re still building and growing, and that’s always the goal. We’ve made a lot of progress. We feel like we’re in a good spot, but there’s definitely a strong sense of urgency to continue to improve and get to where we need to be.”
