Daniel Jones knows he needs to take better care of the ball

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Now that Daniel Jones feels better, he knows he needs to play better.

The Giants rookie quarterback practiced with the starters yesterday and appears set to return to the lineup Sunday against Washington, and he’s coming back with specific goals in mind — winning and taking care of the ball.

“I think ball security obviously is the big thing,” Jones said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “Making sure I’m doing my part in protecting the ball and that way giving us the best chance to win. The most important thing these last two weeks is to win the games. So my role in that, ball security plays a big part in it.”

“[It’s about] understanding that fine line and being able to play with that. Being able to protect the ball but also being aggressive is our job, and it’s what we’re trained to do and coached to do. So that balance and that skill and being able to do that is what you have to do to be good at this level. So I’ve worked on it, but I think you have to be able to do both.”

Jones hasn’t done a great job of accomplishing his two main goals. He hasn’t won a game since they beat Washington in September, and he’s turned the ball over 21 times against his 20 touchdowns. That includes 11 interceptions, and the 10 lost fumbles.

The Giants haven’t come out and said specifically that he’ll start this week, though every indication points to that after he missed the last two games with a right ankle sprain.