Before we get to the heart of the matter, it’s important to acknowledge that the New York Giants offensive line is still a mess, so when a game gets as out of control as it did Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, you throw out some of the evaluation because there’s no play that beats a defense that’s up by 22 points with a quarter to go, so the offense has to throw for sure. You can even excuse the very late interceptions because at that point you can be kind of impressed that the guy is still willing to throw the ball.
With that done, Daniel Jones needs to be benched. Or at least informed that first-team practice appearances will be based on performance from now on. With two other quarterbacks on the roster – Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito – who we know are just as capable of winning games at this point, now is the time to act before Jones-related excuses turn into indifference and cynicism throughout the locker room.
The Giants lost their season opener 28-6. Jones completed 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six. Jones is a tough guy with a big heart who may have been derailed by a series of bad decisions with his offensive coaches since he was signed in 2019. There’s a real chance he’ll play elsewhere, but this situation in New York, just a few quarters of the way through the 2024 NFL season, has already gotten to the point where Brian Daboll took a punt near halftime with the team trailing by three touchdowns.
Daboll has made every effort, and it’s clear that Jones is only moderately effective when he’s involved in the team’s running game (as opposed to ineffective as a pure drop-back passer). The problem is that Jones doesn’t have the athleticism of a Justin Fields or the power of a Josh Allen to scare a defense. Most of the designed runs for Jones, a trend Daboll was heavily into when Sunday’s game was still open, were stopped in the backfield. Jones had trouble reading what was in front of him, missed throws and seemed nervous at times, which is understandable considering how uncertain he probably is about his situation. Yes, there were drops. Yes, DC Brian Flores called a great game for the Vikings. No, this game shouldn’t have been a blowout.
The Giants have tried unconditional love with Jones, they have tried tough love and they have tried about his replacement in an HBO miniseries this offseasonnone of which provided the career-defibrillator shock the team was hoping for. This offseason, Daboll made it public that he wanted to keep Jones out of 7-on-7 drills all summer, forcing Jones into heavy defensive pressure every single snap in the hopes he would acclimate. With the most important years of the now ill-fated four-year, $160 million contract extension behind us, the Giants are committed to Jones for more than just financial reasons.
Under normal circumstances, calling for a starting quarterback to be benched after one week of the season is a world-class headline job from someone who makes a living covering football. It is a First attempt-style, performative tap dancing, a challenge to see how loudly you can scream “FIRE” in a crowded movie theater for no other reason than the love of the sound of your own voice. I’ll make an exception, however, due to the circumstances. The Giants’ offseason roadmap so far, which has included heavily considering a transfer in the 2024 draft and signing a backup with starting experience, has been an admission that Jones is in the very late stages of his time with the team.
At this point, the priority should be to bring in a quarterback who is capable of playing within the confines of the offense – even unspectacularly. First-round rookie Malik Nabers doesn’t need a superstar, he needs a DoorDash quarterback, something good enough to just come in and give him a chance to create. The same could be said about Wan’Dale Robinson, who made perhaps the only play on the offense worthy of being included in a Week 1 highlight video.
For whatever reason — choose one from the list above — Jones can’t be that quarterback. Too often during his tenure, games have spiraled out of control at avalanche speed. Such repetitions can leave a mark on any locker room, but especially on a Giants team that can no longer shift the blame to anyone else. Jones isn’t done yet, but he’s done ThereThe longer the Giants wait to make this decision, the longer they risk the rest of the locker room believing they can perform this way and still be expected to earn a starting spot.
