Bruce Arians: Daniel Jones is Trying To Do Too Much

Daniel Jones really wants to win.

He wants to win so badly that there are times when he loads too much on his shoulders and tries to do too much only to achieve disastrous results.

Such is the latest installment of Jones' young career, which saw him throw two costly interceptions that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers converted into 10 points as part of their 25-23 win over the Giants.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, who knows a thing or two about quarterback development, said that Jones, who a turnover in all but one of his games played, believes that Jones is trying to move a mountain all by himself.

"The young quarterback, he's still trying to do too much," Arians said after the game. "When you're in the grasp of those guys, that cost them basically the ball game throwing those two picks. But God bless him, he is hard to handle and he's a kid that thinks he can make a play."

The two interceptions brought Jones' season total to nine, which is third in the NFL through eight weeks. Throw in his lost fumbles, and Jones ranks second in the NFL in total turnovers with 14.

But about those interceptions--both came on plays where Jones was under pressure, as he tried to make something out of nothing instead of being smart and throwing the ball away.

Giants head coach Joe Judge, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, and quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski have stressed the importance of not falling for the traps on busted plays and simply avoiding mistakes.

Yet despite the coaching, Jones the competitor can't seem to curtail his ways.

"Those were costly mistakes for us and something that I have to continue to work on and improve," Jones said. "The message [from the coaches] is to understand when it's not there and to get the ball out of my hand and to make sure I'm preventing the big mistakes.

"The communication is clear, the coaching is clear and I just need to be a better job applying it."

"It cost him basically the ball game"

Bruce Arians says Daniel Jones is "still trying to do too much" pic.twitter.com/LKwFWvPuuM
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 3, 2020

On top of the interceptions, Jones couldn't connect on several throws that could have also turned the game in favor of the Giants, particularly on deep routes to Darius Slayton.

The Jones-to-Slayton deep-ball connection has been the Giants' bread and butter on offense, for the most part, this year, but that connection appeared to be severed on Monday night.

Despite it all, Jones was still in a position to tie the game for the Giants in the final minute after leading an impressive touchdown drive that saw him complete two big-time plays on fourth down.

But on the two-point conversion, Jones' slight hesitation in releasing the ball to Dion Lewis resulted in the defender being able to charge up on Lewis and knock the ball away to preserve the win for the Bucs.

Despite the latest heartbreak, Jones is (for the time being) the Giants' franchise quarterback, a point Judge made crystal clear after the game when asked if he might consider giving the young passer a timeout to sit back and watch.

But Jones needs to start rewarding the ongoing faith his coaches have in him by cutting down on these foolish and costly mistakes.