Simply put, there was a reason why Giants fans were burning Daniel Jones jerseys in the parking lot after Sunday’s game at the Meadowlands.
With a strengthened offensive line, the addition of a true No. 1 receiver in Malik Neighbors and the loss of Saquon Barkley, the Giants were optimistic that Jones could prove why he was the No. 6 overall draft pick. But that didn’t happen in Week 1.
Jones struggled, completing 42 passes for 186 yards with two interceptions and five sacks. He completed 22 passes with an average passing depth of just 3.8 yards. Neighbors did his part, catching five of seven passes for 66 yards, but New York couldn’t get going, managing just two field goals on 68 total plays.
Jones recorded just 186 yards due to a combination of poor completion percentages and poor depth on each pass, but he still threw two interceptions, one of which went for a touchdown.
Jones’ passer rating of 44.3 was the third-worst game of his career by that metric, and his third-worst game in first downs per pass attempt. This came despite the Vikings having a large lead for most of the game, which should have favored the Vikings in a game that saw more passing attempts.
Perhaps most troubling, Jones had the second-lowest blitz rate of his career (10.3%), which was the third-lowest among quarterbacks through the 1 p.m. slot in Week 1. The Vikings defense stopped six passes in the game but was easily outplayed by Jones’ poor decisions.
Big Blue will open NFC East play in Week 2, traveling to Washington to take on Jayden Daniels’ Commanders.
