The New York Giants’ campaign got off to a horrendous start as the Minnesota Vikings thrashed them 28-6 at MetLife Stadium. Quarterback Sam Darnold put on a clinical display, as he completed 19 of his 24 pass attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
On the flip side, Daniel Jones had a nightmare outing. The much-maligned Giants star managed to find his target on only 22 of his 42 passes. He finished the game with an underwhelming 186 passing yards and two interceptions.
Some fans of the G-Men have seemingly had enough and are resorting to dangerous antics to voice their frustration about Jones. A small crowd in the parking lot of MetLife Stadium burned the quarterback’s jerseys as a sign of protest.
The 27-year-old is looking to bounce back from a difficult 2023 season and would’ve hoped to have a strong start to the new campaign. However, his disappointing day at the office will do little to improve his diminishing stock.
Daniel Jones’ two ugly interceptions
With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, the Giants were trailing 21-6. They got the ball back and were looking to string together a strong drive to keep their hopes of a comeback alive.
The offense tried to get creative and called a quick screen pass to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. However, disaster struck, as Daniel Jones threw a lateral straight into linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel’s waiting arms, who strolled into the endzone untouched to extend his team’s lead to 22 points.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Giants’ offense finally woke up but was immediately put to sleep as soon as they made it into the red zone. With less than 14 minutes left in the game, they kept the offense out on a 4th-and-8 play, hoping to cut the Vikings’ lead to 15.
Instead, Jones erred again and threw the ball straight to safety Harrison Smith, who made no mistake in intercepting the stray pass. Two interceptions in the span of six minutes of game time all but ended the Giants’ hopes of mounting a comeback.
It remains to be seen whether the team chalks off Jones’ awful outing as a bad day at the office or reprimands him for his performance.
