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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff WriterSep 11, 2024, 05:29 PM ET
- Jordan Raanan is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Raanan covers the New York Giants. You can follow him via Twitter @JordanRaanan.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones is used to this kind of pressure and doubt already. He’s been dealing with it ever since the day he was selected by the New York Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
The Giants’ starting quarterback isn’t particularly worried about his confidence and mental toughness now after a poor performance in a 28-6 season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
“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,” Jones said ahead of a weekend matchup with the Washington Commanders. “I think my mental toughness is in a good spot. I’m not concerned about that.”
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Coach Brian Daboll was asked if he saw a quarterback who is playing with confidence.
“Yeah, we’ve played one game,” Daboll said. “So, no one did good enough that first game. So again, team sport and we’ll work on fixing it.”
This line of questioning comes after Jones didn’t look all that sharp while completing 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The second interception was a screen pass returned for a touchdown by Andrew Van Ginkel.
It has left doubt about how much longer Daboll can continue to ride with Jones if his play doesn’t improve. Jones isn’t thinking about whether he’s playing for his job on Sunday, but at some point he will need to perform better quickly in order for Daboll to be able to justify his status as the starter to the locker room.
“I’m playing to win games,” Jones said. “I’m playing to lead the team to score points and win games. That has always been my focus. I know I can do that. Got to do it. Got to do it well.”
The Giants (0-1) are 1-6 in Jones’ seven starts since signing a four-year, $160 million contract. He’s thrown three pick-sixes during that time compared to just two touchdowns.
This past Sunday looked like a continuation of last season, when the Giants offense struggled and the fifth-year pro threw two touchdown passes and six interceptions in six games.
Jones, who is coming off a torn ACL in his right knee suffered last November, came away from Sunday thinking he needed to be quicker with his decisions, cleaner with his feet. He didn’t think confidence is or was the issue.
“I’m confident in my ability, confident in my ability to go out and execute and look forward to doing that on Sunday,” he said.
Jones told ESPN in 2023 that he talks weekly with a sports psychologist. He’s also known to be especially close with his family and uses them regularly as a sounding board.
There certainly has been a lot of noise on the outside. Several former teammates (ex-Giant wide receiver Golden Tate and cornerback Janoris Jenkins) have publicly expressed their opinions on his struggles and ability. Outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard even said the Vikings “kind of started to feel a little bit bad” for Jones during Sunday’s contest.
Jones and the Giants offense was booed after the second play of the season. He was booed and heckled by fans as he exited the stadium.
“Fans are upset, frustrated. We’re frustrated too. So I understand that,” Jones said. “I’m not easily offended. I understand how it works. I understand that. I’m not easily offended. I understand how it works. I have to play better. We all have to play better.”
In order for that to happen, it’s on Daboll to get his quarterback right. The Giants are attached to Jones for at least this season.
Jones took all the first-team reps at training camp this summer. Backup Drew Lock and third-stringer Tommy DeVito will not see an increase in snaps at practice this week.
The Giants are banking on getting Jones right.
“He’s someone that I talk to every day,” Daboll said of Jones. “We talk about the discipline to do things right on and off the field like he always does, having a positive attitude regardless of situation. It’s never easy when you lose a game, or you don’t play well, or you don’t coach well. … So, keeping a positive attitude, doing the things that you need to do each and every week to prepare for a game, which he’ll do. And then handling things with the right mindset. Be able to persevere through things, let your passion show, have competitive stamina. Mental toughness is a real thing.”
The Giants are about to find out just how mentally tough their quarterback is, beginning Sunday against the Commanders.
