While New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been a lightning rod for criticism from the moment he was chosen No. 6 overall in 2019, there was a decidedly vicious and alarming escalation in New York's sentiment towards him after the Giants' lifeless, listless 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Jones -- who played arguably the worst game of his entire career coming off a torn ACL and looked like a shell of the quarterback he was when he defeated the Vikings in the 2022 playoffs -- was completely savaged by boos to the point that Vikings players began to pity him, and even then, his humiliation ritual was not over.
Certain people who attended Sunday's Week 1 opener at the Meadowlands went as far as to stick around outside the players' exit after the game to boo and heckle Jones, subjecting him to a walk of shame as he left the stadium to simply get in his car and drive home. True to his usual manner of conducting himself amid a barrage of media questions on Wednesday, Jones took the high road when asked about being heckled in that manner.
"They're upset and frustrated, and we're frustrated too. I understand that -- I'm not easily offended," Jones said. "I understand how it works. I know I've got to play better. We've all got to play better."
Despite the hope that Jones would be able to play better after a 2023 season that was short circuited by horrific offensive line play leading to him suffering a neck injury and then a torn ACL, his performance against the Vikings -- where he read the field poorly, habitually missed easy throws and often looked overwhelmed under center -- was outright alarming and did nothing to settle the nerves of Giants fans. The Giants were the lone team in Week 1 to score less than 10 points, continuing a pattern of offensive ineptitude that has dogged the franchise since it forced out legendary head coach Tom Coughlin with a few short respites in 2016 and 2022.
Jones was not the sole perpetrator of the Giants' Week 1 undoing -- a poor game plan and poor defensive play were equally culpable -- but it was enough for many fans, media and even opposing players to declare open season on Jones, generating all sorts of angst ranging from whether Jones has mentally broken down to whether a repeat performance will be enough to get him benched.
When asked if he felt he was playing for his job, Jones maintained that he was "playing to win games" and that his focus was on "doing my job and playing well." He offered a slightly more revealing response when asked about the cavalcade of vitriol accompanying his Week 1 performance as he seeks to bounce back against the Washington Commanders in Week 2 and stave off the writing of his Giants epitaph.
"I feel like I've been doubted plenty for a long time and dealt with that time and time again and done a good job with it. I think my mental toughness is in a good spot and I'm not concerned about that. ... I've said a number of times I'm concerned about the people in this building, and I think I've got plenty of help, plenty of good coaching, plenty of good teammates to work with here. That's what I'm focused on.
"I've got people I trust, who I have relationships with, who can help me out. But in terms of other people and what they have to say or what they think from their perspective and what their observations are, it's really not very important to me."