This year marks the 100th season of the New York Giants. The squad appeared to be in for a treat this year, from bringing back the team’s original jersey to unretiring a jersey number for their young receiver and strengthening their defense.
That is, up to the Giants’ game.
In typical Giants tradition, the team disintegrated in their home opener against the severely injured Minnesota Vikings in 2024. The Vikings’ defense recorded five sacks and two interceptions, including a huge pick six to put the offense in scoring position. Quarterback Sam Darnold of the Vikings passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Aaron Jones ran for 94 yards and a touchdown and top receiver Justin Jefferson gained 59 yards and a touchdown. the final nail in the coffin and en route to a 28-6 win.
Daniel Jones, the quarterback who concluded the game with 186 passing yards on 22 of 42 passes and two interceptions, was unavoidably blamed by the crowd. In fact, there were supporters who purposefully waited behind to heckle Jones with some trash language as be departed MetLife Stadium, and others who were seen departing with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
On September 11, after practice, Jones was questioned about the defeat, the support from the crowd, and the nature of his mental toughness after such a humiliating defeat.
Regarding the responses from the fans, Jones stated he is not upset. Jones, however, made the elegant admission that “I know I’ve got to play better, we all got to play better.”
When asked if he thought his performance would affect his ability to keep his job, Jones said, “I’m playing to win games.” My goal as a player has always been to help the team win games and earn points; I know I can accomplish that; all I need to do is play the game with confidence.”
During the news conference following the Week 1 loss, head coach Brian Daboll was questioned on Jones’ future as the Giants’ starting quarterback. Daboll promptly disproved such idea and restated his insistence that benching Jones was never considered.
Daboll was not Jones’s lone ally. Jailn Hyatt, a wide receiver, said, “I’m not concerned about DJ at all; we all have complete faith and confidence in him.” We all forget that it’s just been one week since his ACL injury, so this is his first time playing, but we know that both he and we will recover.”
Given the early odds, which included a large-scale fan departure, a Jones jersey being set on fire in the parking lot, trash language, and fans calling for his job — reporters wanted to know about Jones’ mental toughness amid the ordeal.
“I’ve been doubted plenty for a long time, and I’ve dealt with that time and time again and done a good job with it,” Jones said.
This next Sunday, Jones and the Giants will take on the division foe Washington Commanders in the hopes of regaining their winning ways.
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