EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After spending more than nine months recovering from ACL surgery, Daniel Jones’ comeback in the New York Giants’ season opener was anything but a textbook game.
The quarterback was booed.
The number 6 pick in the 2019 draft played poorly in a 28:6 defeat against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday when he threw two interceptions – including a pick-6 on a swing pass that Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel caught with one hand before heading into the end zone.
“Obviously not good enough. Didn’t get into the end zone, scored six points,” said Joneswho completed 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards. “We didn’t create much rhythm and flow for ourselves. I need to be better, definitely play better, give us more chances to make plays and execute more consistently.”
Although he struggled, the 27-year-old Jones was not solely to blame. The newly formed offensive line that was supposed to hold him up allowed him to be sacked five times. New York managed just 74 yards on 21 carries, with some of the longer runs coming after the game was already decided.
Although the Giants have been preaching about throwing the ball long since the start of training camp, they have not managed to throw it long once. The longest play was two 25-yard catches by first-round draft pick Malik Nabors. Eight of the Giants’ 68 offensive plays were over 10 yards.
“Today’s result is certainly frustrating and disappointing,” Jones said. “I think we have to understand that this is week one and there’s still a lot of football to be played, so we have to get a handle on it. We have to make improvements quickly and play a lot of football, so that’s what we’ll do.”
After reaching the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record in Brian Daboll’s first season as head coach in 2022, the Giants disappointed fans last season with a 6-11 record. Fans were visibly frustrated at halftime when New York trailed 14-3 and booed the team off the field.
They were equally unhappy after the Vikings scored on their first possession of the second half, and angry after Van Ginkel intercepted a pass from Wan’Dale Robinson and scored to make it 28-6.
Most Giants fans booed. And those who stayed booed Jones when he returned to the field for the next series.
Daboll, who is calling the offensive plays this season, said he never considered taking Jones out of the game. He said everyone on the team needs to do a better job, starting with him.
“I know what we’re going to do,” Daboll said. “We’re going to come back tomorrow morning, go to work, study, have a good week of practice and do everything we can to get ready for Week 2.”
The Giants travel next Sunday to face the Washington Commanders.
“We beat ourselves up today, we had a lot of penalties that we need to fix,” said Nabers, who had five catches for 66 yards, a team-high. “So when you get held back, it’s pretty hard to get back on track, so we’ve got to stay over the post.”
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was not happy about the booing.
“Honestly, I don’t respect that,” he said. “I understand, they want their team to win. It’s just a difficult phase. It is what it is.”
Offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor wasn’t as upset.
“I mean, shoot, I don’t blame them. We have to be better and we will be better,” Eluemunor said. “Obviously, it’s New York City, they want to win. Us as attackers and me as a player and starter, we all can always be better. You can always do more, whether you win or lose.”
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