HOUSTON — His quarterback was playing in his first game back in a long absence and playing with two of his best receivers. But football is a results business, even if the games don’t count in the standings. So Brian Daboll had other things on his mind when he spoke to the media after the Giants’ 28-10 loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.

“It’s hard to win a game when you lose the ball five times. That’s where it starts,” Daboll said.

The two problems are not entirely separate. Daniel Jones, playing in his first game since tearing his ACL on Nov. 5 of last year, was responsible for two of the turnovers, throwing interceptions on the Giants’ second and third offensive plays. The first was a haphazard pass that Jalen Pitre returned five yards for a touchdown. The second was a throw to Jalin Hyatt that Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted at the one-yard line with 2:32 left in the first quarter.

“A little shaky at the beginning,” Jones said. “The first quarter obviously didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”

But Jones’ return was still the Giants’ most significant development of the game, especially because he connected on four passes for a team-high 54 yards to Malik Nabers, the first catches of the sensational first-round draft pick, who showed off his athletic ability on an acrobatic 21-yard pass. Jones and Darius Slayton teamed up for a 44-yard pass that set up the Giants’ only touchdown and capped a successful two-minute drive.

Jones, Slayton and Dexter Lawrence are members of the 2019 draft class and the Giants with the longest tenure.

“It was awesome, like old times, like no time had passed,” said Slayton, who caught three passes for 59 yards. “Obviously I’m excited to have him back out there and hopefully he stays healthy and we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.”

Jones didn’t play in last week’s season opener and Nabers didn’t catch a pass, but Saturday it seemed like they had played together for years.

“We are of the same opinion,” said Nabers. “The chemistry is right. There is still a lot to be clarified, but the chemistry on the field is right.”

Jones played on each of the Giants’ five possessions in the first half, covering 30 snaps. They were evenly distributed, with Jones playing under center and as a shotgun on 15 snaps each. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 138 yards, gained 12 yards on his only rushing attempt, and was not sacked.

“One of the plans was to call some plays today, throw some long balls to see how our line works and have it drop back,” Daboll said. “Apply a little pressure when it’s live and then try to drive the ball down the field, that was a focus. … You have a plan. It’s a little different than a regular season game where you make plans and do things like that.”

As Jones noted, his first quarter was rocky. He threw two incomplete passes – including Nabers’ drop on the game’s first third down – when the Giants were three and out on the game’s first possession. After a defensive stop on fourth down, they won the next possession at their own six-yard line. Two plays later, Jones dropped back into the end zone, where he was hugged by defensive end Derek Barnett. He threw the ball anyway, which Pitre easily intercepted and returned the short distance to the end zone.

“Bad call and bad throw,” Jones said. “I think in a situation like that, you’re obviously being tackled in the end zone, so an intentional grounding there is a safety. So you just have to make sure you throw the ball in front of his feet so there’s no chance for an intentional grounding. Obviously you can’t take a sack there in the end zone.”

Daboll said Jones made a “bad decision. … We’ll judge that. That’s what these games are for.”

Six plays into the Giants’ next possession, they got a first down at the Texans’ 33-yard line. Hyatt appeared to be one step ahead of Stingley, but the cornerback jumped up and intercepted the ball.

“I left the ball in – just a bad throw,” Jones said. “In a situation like that, you have to miss on the outside when you throw the ball down the field.”

For the second consecutive quarter, the Giants scored all their points in the second quarter. Two plays after Slayton’s long pass, Devin Singletary scored a touchdown on a one-yard run.

“It was good to end the drive like that and score a touchdown,” Daboll said.

After the Texans took a 14-7 lead, the Giants took control at their own 23-yard line with 3:43 left in the first half. They got as far as the Houston 13-yard line before Graham Gano kicked a 31-yard field goal.

“I think overall we got some things going in the second quarter and got the ball moving and executing,” Jones said. “I’m happy with our response in the second quarter.”

The Giants’ other turnovers came at the hands of substitute players, as backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, wide receiver John Jiles and running back Lorenzo Lingard each lost a fumble on two consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.

“When you lose the ball, you don’t give yourself much of a chance,” Daboll said. “That’s obviously something we need to improve on.”

Despite the misses, the Giants’ overall picture looks much better now that Jones has made his first tryout in more than nine months. Daboll has not said whether Jones will play in the final preseason game against the Jets next week. The regular season begins Sept. 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.

“First game back after a short break,” Daboll said. “He earned a first down. Did some good things, but obviously we can all do better. It’s his first game back and you’re trying to get ready for a game that’s not too far away.”

Jones will be sharper once he shakes off the rust. Although he’s disappointed with the interceptions, he knows the biggest news is that he’s back on the field.

“I feel good physically, I felt really good and I’m happy to be out there,” he said. “I’m grateful to all the people who helped me get here. All the doctors and trainers and staff here who helped me. It was fun to be out there. It didn’t start out perfect, like I said, but we started and I feel good physically.”

This is really the news of the day.