Former MVP sounds alarms about Giants' Daniel Jones

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones produced a dud in this past Sunday's season-opening 28-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. 

One-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Award winner and current NFL analyst Boomer Esiason suggested on Monday that Jones' issues against the Vikings went beyond the fact that he may have been a bit rusty coming off the torn ACL he suffered on Nov. 5 of last year. 

"Daniel Jones is 'skittish,'" Esiason said during the WFAN "Boomer and Gio" show, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "Nervous, worried. I don’t know if it’s the knee or it’s just who he is as a player. It was cringe watching it. It was hard to watch…you cannot turn the ball over." 

Jones first sparked concerns this summer when he tossed a pair of ugly interceptions, including one near his end zone that was returned for a touchdown, in his preseason debut against the Houston Texans last month. He threw two interceptions against Minnesota, one of which became a pick-six and a second that included him throwing the ball into triple coverage. 

"That one interception in the end zone, there’s three Viking defenders there," Esiason said about Jones' second pick of the game. "It was like he locked in and was gonna throw it. The end result is another interception. It’s a killer." 

According to ESPN stats, Jones ended Week 1 ranked 30th out of 32 qualified players with a woeful 16.6 adjusted QBR. In total, he completed 22-of-42 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions versus Minnesota. 

ESPN's Jordan Raanan and others noted that Giants head coach Brian Daboll is keeping Jones atop the depth chart through preparations for the Week 2 game at the 0-1 Washington Commanders this coming Sunday. Esiason is among those who believe Daboll could give Jones the hook sooner rather than later if the 27-year-old continues making costly and avoidable mistakes. 

"If Brian Daboll wants to save his job, you cannot continue with this kind of indiscretion. The interceptions are killers, man," Esiason added. 

Whispers about the Giants possibly parting ways with both Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen will only grow louder if the club remains near or at the bottom of the overall league standings through the fall. As Gabriel Trevino pointed out for NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on Tuesday, some media personalities continue to link Big Blue with former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. 

Belichick reportedly plans to return to coaching next year and earned his first two of eight career Super Bowl rings with the Giants while serving as an assistant and as defensive coordinator from 1979 through the 1990 season. 

As for Jones' future, it's believed the Giants could sit him at any point so they can keep him healthy and then release him next offseason. If he makes more baffling decisions regarding where and when to throw the football against Washington, he could be made a spectator for the Week 3 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. 

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Giants as 2.5-point road underdogs versus the Commanders.