Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is booed in his first game since ACL injury
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After working for more than nine months to recover from ACL surgery, Daniel Jones didn’t quite have a storybook return for the New York Giants in their season opener.
The quarterback was booed.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft played poorly in a 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, throwing two interceptions — including a pick-6 on swing pass that Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel caught with one hand before walking into the end zone.
Obviously not good enough. Didn’t get in the end zone, scored six points,” said Jones, who finshed 22 of 42 for 186 yards. “Didn’t create much rhythm and flow for ourselves. I’ve got to be better, certainly got to play better, give ourselves more chances to make plays and execute more consistently.”
While he struggled, the 27-year-old Jones wasn’t entirely to blame. The revamped offensive line that was supposed to keep him upright allowed him to be sacked five times. New York had just 74 yards rushing on 21 carries, with some of the longer runs coming after the game was decided.
After preaching about throwing the ball downfield since training camp opened, the Giants didn’t go deep once. The longest play was a pair of 25-yard catches by first-round draft pick Malik Nabors. Eight of the Giants’ 68 offensive plays were for more than 10 yards.
“It’s certainly frustrating and disappointing to get the result today that we did,” Jones said. “I think for us, we’ve got to understand this is the first week and there’s a lot of football to play, so we’ve got to clean it up. We’ve got to make some improvements fast and a lot of football to play, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
