Playing Daniel Jones was NY Giants’ Joe Judge’s first major mistake

NY Giants rookie coach Joe Judge made a rookie mistake by playing Daniel Jones last week that might have cost his team a playoff berth, and put his franchise QB at risk

Since his arrival as NY Giants head coach, Joe Judge has enjoyed the benefit of the doubt from the fanbase at every turn, as he aimed to mold his players into the blue collar team he promised that fans could be proud to support each week.

Whether it was risking alienating veteran players by removing names from practice jerseys, punishing mistakes made by players and coaches alike with penalty laps, or crafting a no-nonsense culture where mistakes carry benchings or suspensions as penance, it seemed Judge could do no wrong.

That is, until last Sunday.

Judge’s decision to start a clearly limited Daniel Jones at quarterback, despite the lingering effects of a hamstring injury suffered two weeks earlier that very clearly hampered his ability to evade pressure in the pocket en route to getting sacked eight times and led to him not attempting a rush for the first time in his career, also led to Jones suffering a sprained left ankle in a disastrous 26-7 loss.

Jones was held to just 11-of-21 passing for 127 yards, and he fumbled three times, in addition to getting hurt against the Cardinals.

Would the Giants have beaten the Cardinals, their swarming defense, Kyler Murray, and all with Colt McCoy? Probably not.

It just wasn’t the Giants’ day.

After all, with a hobbled Jones leading the offense, the Giants managed just 159 yards of offense. And while the defense admirably held as long as it could, even Patrick Graham’s recently dominant unit wilted under the pressure of being on the field for nearly 38 minutes.

But, had Judge held Jones out last week, perhaps the second-year quarterback would have been closer to fully healthy for a now must-win Week 15 clash against the Cleveland Browns.

It became wholly obvious that the Giants’ offense is simply dysfunctional without Jones being a legitimate threat to run with the football and after playing him against the Cardinals, there’s even less of a chance that threat returns against the Browns.

Three times since Sunday, Judge has asserted that Jones was healthy enough to play, even though Jones admitted following the game; “I think I wasn’t able to run like I normally do, but I felt good during the game.”

Wednesday, Judge reaffirmed the benchmarks Jones needs to clear in order to be cleared to play on Sunday.

"“Again, if he can defend himself properly in the pocket as I’ve said before on how I’ll handle it, if he’s not at risk beyond any normal game, then we’ll go ahead and give him the opportunity to play,” Judge said. “If we think that’s an issue, that he can’t go out there and defend himself, then we’ll make the best decision for him long-term and the team as well.”"

Either the benchmarks or the priorities need to change.

Judge put the fate of this season and the Giants’ future in a bit of peril last week by not taking the bigger-picture view when it came to Jones’ health.

It’s a rookie mistake the rookie head coach made that just might cost his team its second playoff berth since 2011. Especially if Jones does not return to form from both a right hamstring injury and sprained left tackle to be effective enough to gut out at least two wins over the Browns, Ravens, and Dallas Cowboys to close out this season.

Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.