The Vikings started beating Giants quarterback Daniel Jones so badly Sunday that even Minnesota outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard started to feel bad about it.
During a Tuesday interview on “The Power Trip Morning Show,” Greenard talked about the booing Jones received, adding that he started to feel some sympathy for the oft-criticized QB as the game went on.
Giants fans did not let up on Jones, with some waiting outside the players’ entrance and heckling him as he left MetLife Stadium after the 28-6 loss.
“We kind of started to feel a little bit bad for him as we’re still just completely taking away everything he wants to do,” Greenard told the radio show. “Hey, it’s good to be on the other side of it, and it’s our job to not be on that side.”
Jones finished the game with a 44.3 passer rating and threw two interceptions.
The signal-caller has been highly scrutinized since he signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Giants before the 2023 season.
The 2023 season was one to forget for Jones after he played just six games due to neck and knee injuries.
Greenard said during the radio spot that he’s been in Jones’ shoes before hearing boos from the home fans having played in Houston during some tough years.
“I’ve been a part of those boos when you walking on the field and your offense doesn’t make anything happen and there’s just, you would think it’s an away game at this point,” Greenard said.
“But at that time, you know how, how we were attacking him and understanding like where he’s at in his career based on you know, obviously the scheme that he has, you know, whatever the contract things going on. So, we understand he’s dealing with a lot, and if we can add another aspect of you know, pressure onto the guy to make him speed up his reads a little bit more, make sure that he’s not gonna get confident and comfortable back in the pocket. Man, it was a great feeling to see it on the first couple of drives.”
The Giants’ offense totaled just 240 net yards in the season-opening loss.
But even with all of the criticism of Jones, the Giants plan to stick with him at quarterback, at least for another week, as head coach Brian Daboll answered in the affirmative on Monday that Jones was still QB1.
The Giants face the Commanders on the road at 1 p.m. in Week 2.
