It is difficult to choose which Daniel Jones dude was most worthy of his permanent bench in the first half of the Giants“Embarrassing loss to the Panthers in Germany.

Was it the terrible overthrow of Malik Nabers on third-and-8 on their first offensive drive — in which Jones had a clean pocket and an open target in Nabers, who owns a handful of records through his first seven NFL games?

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Or maybe his decision to eat a bag on the failure flea flicker attemptinstead of at least to attempt a through ball to Wan’Dale Robinson or Nabers, who were wide open 20 yards downfield?

If neither of them killed him, certainly Xavier Woods’ interception — which was called by Jadeveon Clowney, who Jones could have easily fooled with a pump fake — with 1:54 left in the half would have happened.

Alas, coach Brian Daboll still wouldn’t move – and it cost him another winnable game.

The Giants lost to the Panthers in overtime, 20-17, on Sunday at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Jones finished the game with 190 yards on 22-of-37 passing, one rushing touchdown and two interceptions.

And look, like every other week, Jones showed flashes to finish the game. This was especially evident on the Giants’ 13-play, 96-yard drive in the fourth quarter, which he capped with a rushing touchdown, and on the final drive of regulation, before Graham Gano made the 42-yard field goal to send the game in overtime.

And even though it wasn’t Jones who committed the decisive fumble in overtime, his inconsistent play up to that point once again hampered his team.

Case in point: As the Giants, who had just forced a turnover, threatened to take their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter, Jones threw a silly interception intended for Tyrone Tracy at the Carolina 8-yard line.

The Giants are now 2-8 – the worst record in football (so far) – and own a five-game losing streak.

Perhaps the most embarrassing stat for Jones and Co.: the Giants were actually favored going into this game, which hasn’t been the case since Week 2 of 2023 when they beat the Arizona Cardinals , 31-28, as 4.5-point road favorites.

This season is more than lost – so much so that co-owner John Mara may have no choice but to go back the vote of confidence he offered at the end of October to Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.

And while it might require more discussion, the Jones decision shouldn’t.

The time to bench the sixth-year quarterback is over. If Schoen, Daboll or, more importantly, Mara, can’t figure it out after this latest stink, then someone else needs to take the lead behind the scenes.

Jones’ season numbers are…good – 2,070 passing yards, with a brutal 8-7 interception-to-touchdown ratio. But performances like this – posting a 50.5 quarterback rating against the Panthers, a bottom-three defense in the NFL – are simply unacceptable.

The longer the Giants trot in front of Jones, happy with his run, in this lost season, the more they gamble on their future cap situation.

Remember: Jones has a $23 million injury guarantee in his contract – meaning if he suffers a serious injury that prevents him from having a physical on March 12, he gets $12 million guaranteed, and if he cannot pass a medical examination within the week. 1 next season, he will receive an additional $11 million.

If the Giants want to maximize their future, they need to be able to move Jones away next offseason. Putting him in bubble wrap for the remainder of this season is undoubtedly the right decision for a team that has only made the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in 2011. Drew’s abandonment Lock (which is also not good) cannot be that dramatic. Another question: If the Giants can’t trust Lock, why is he the backup and not a more proven NFL quarterback?

Look, we all know Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract was a mistake. Ownership would never admit it, but games like this make it clear.

Mara can minimize the impact of the deal by (rightly) putting his overpaid QB and releasing him this offseason, or risking an injury that would haunt his team for years to come.

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Ryan Novozinsky can be contacted at [email protected]. You can follow him on @ryannovo62.