Daniel Jones Brushes Off Kenny Golladay’s Sideline Outburst: ‘We’ll Keep Working Through It’
Nothing to see here?
Most Giants fans were probably driven to screaming during Thursday night’s game against Washington.
New York’s combination of missed opportunities (a holding penalty that nullified a long Daniel Jones touchdown run, a Jones overthrow to a wide-open Darius Slayton in the end zone and a three-and-out after James Bradberry’s clutch fourth-quarter interception, to name a few) and conservative decision-making (kicking a field goal after Bradberry’s interception, kicking a 55-yard field goal on fourth-and-4 earlier in the quarter and kicking yet another field goal on fourth-and-2 from the 5 late in the first half, among others) proved costly for the Giants. Dexter Lawrence jumping offsides and giving Dustin Hopkins another shot at the winning field goal was what ultimately sank the Giants, but the whole game was frustrating from a New York perspective.
The frustration reached a boiling point for one Giants player in particular. After New York was forced to punt the ball away, trailing by one with 3:13 on the clock, television cameras captured receiver Kenny Golladay yelling on the sidelines. (It’s unclear whether Jones or offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was the primary target.)
After the game, Jones downplayed Golladay’s outburst.
“I think he was frustrated with the situation; I don’t think it was to me or to anyone in particular. So I think we’re all good,” Jones told reporters. “I love Kenny. I thought he played hard and did a lot of good things out there.
“He was just frustrated with the situation, and we’ll be better from it. … He plays hard, wants to win, and wants to do what’s best for the team. So, that’s the deal there.”
New York brought in Golladay this offseason on a four-year, $72 million contract, hoping the former Lions Pro Bowler would be a key target for the young franchise quarterback. He hasn’t been too impressive in his first two games with his new team. In Week 1 against the Broncos, Golladay caught six passes for 64 yards. On Thursday, he managed just three for 38, despite drawing eight targets, second on the team behind Sterling Shepard’s 10. Predictably, Golladay wants the ball more.
“Yeah, I think that’s part of it,” Jones said. “You certainly want the receivers that want the ball. We’ll keep working through it.”
The Giants have plenty of things to fix after Thursday night’s heartbreaker. If they stop committing bad penalties and if coach Joe Judge has a conversation with a mathematician about risk-taking, maybe they’ll be able to come out on top in close games like this one. New York has to be happy with how the offense played, though, especially behind a patchwork offensive line. Jones looked every bit like a first-round quarterback, completing 22 of 32 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown, and adding nine carries for 95 yards and another score. It was only the fourth time in 28 career starts that he did not throw an interception or have a fumble. But Golladay’s blowup has to be cause for concern. It’s a bad sign if your marquee offseason acquisition is unhappy just two weeks into the season. If he was just letting off some steam in the heat of the moment, that’s not a big deal. If he still feels the same way Friday morning, that’s a bigger problem. Either way, it’ll give ammo to the New York tabloids, but it isn’t bothering Jones too much.
“I’ll say again: He wasn’t showing me up individually,” Jones said. “So, part of the game. Like I said, he’s emotional, wants to win. We all do. I respect that.”
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