In his return from last year’s knee injury, Sunday’s game was a nightmare for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, as New York opened their season with an embarrassing blowout loss to the Vikings. Jones’ struggles were summed up by a third quarter pass out to the flat, which linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel stepped in front of for a walk-in 10-yard interception return to give the Vikings a 28-6 lead.
The Giants were decked out in their throwback uniforms for Sunday’s home opener, but their on-field performance was more like a throwback to last year. Slow starts on offense and early double-digit deficits were a constant theme last season and that was the case again on Sunday. The Giants were held to three points in the first half and trailed 14-3 at the half as Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold had completed 13 of 14 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Having taken an early 3-0 lead, the Giants gave up a 65-yard touchdown drive that ended on a three-yard Aaron Jones touchdown run. Then, after a superb punt by Jamie Gillan pinned the Vikings at their own goal line, Darnold marched them 99 yards and found Justin Jefferson for another three-yard touchdown to make it 14-3.
Jones, who ended up with 94 yards on just 14 carries, also had two big carries on Minnesota’s first possession of the second half which ended when Darnold found Jalen Nailor for a 21-yard touchdown as the Giants’ secondary blew the coverage. That extended their lead to 18.
The Giants gave their fans some faint hope in the third quarter when they cut the lead to 15 on another Graham Gano field goal and then stopped the Vikings to get the ball back, but Van Ginkel’s pick-six put an end to any comeback hopes with under five minutes left in the third quarter.
Here are the key takeaways…
– The Giants’ first series was almost as ugly as their throwback jerseys, and not a good sign in terms of what’s to come this season. A penalty, a dropped pass and a completion for a six-yard loss deflated the home faithful as New York went three-and-out to open the game. By the end of the first half, the fans were booing the offense, and that only intensified in the second half.
– There were better initial signs on defense as Dexter Lawrence sacked Darnold on the Vikings’ first series and then rookie Dru Phillips made an instant impact to force a fumble that Bobby Okereke recovered to set the Giants up with a red zone opportunity. The outcome was again demoralizing though, as the Giants failed to cash in and were forced to settle for a Gano field goal.
– Jones got off to a slow start as he had just 55 passing yards at the half, almost half of which came on Malik Nabers’ first career catch which saw Jones find him in zone coverage for 25. Jones at least seemed confident in his knee, as he ran for a decisive third down conversion. The Giants even tried a designed quarterback run in the red zone. He ended up with 186 yards and two interceptions and struggled with his accuracy throughout.
– Darnold started dozens of games at Metlife Stadium when he was with the Jets, but he didn’t look as assured in many of those as he did in the first half of this game. However, he still wasn’t perfect as he forced a pass into traffic just before halftime which easily could have been a turnover, and then had a pass intercepted late in the third quarter.
– The Giants still seem to be finding their identity on defense with players like Darius Muasau, Dane Belton and Elijah Chatman unexpectedly rotating in. The rookie Muasau made some positive contributions, with seven tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception.
– Many of the players expected to lead the charge on defense, including Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, had quiet games. In addition, Deonte Banks unsurprisingly had his hands full with Jefferson, who beat him for 44 on a deep ball and on the short touchdown in the first half, although to Banks’ credit, he ended up with just 59 yards on four catches.
– While Nabers didn’t have a massive impact, he still led the Giants in receiving yards with 66 on five catches and you already get the sense he’s their most dangerous weapon. They targeted him seven times and Wan’Dale Robinson 12 times. It would probably be good if they could flip those numbers.
– One disappointment was the Giants’ re-tooled offensive line. The Vikings got plenty of pressure on Jones, sacking him five times. In addition, New York’s running backs combined for just 45 rushing yards on 14 carries and the starting linemen accounted for three of the Giants nine penalties.
– The Giants will look to regroup ahead of next week’s game, but if things don’t improve then both Jones and head coach Brian Daboll’s future will be in jeopardy.
Highlights
What’s next
The Giants head out on the road for their first divisional matchup of the season as they face the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Sept. 15th with the kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.