The New York Giants got off to a brutal start in their game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and Brian Daboll appeared to waste no time pointing the finger at Daniel Jones.
Daboll was interviewed by NFL Network after the first quarter at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. When asked what went wrong that led to the Giants trailing 7-0, the head coach said he felt his team had chances to get the ball down the field and has “gotta capitalize on them.”
“Yeah, we had some opportunities on that first drive to really push the ball down the field and, you know, we gotta capitalize on them,” Daboll said.
Daboll also said the Giants missed some tackles on defense, but it was hard to interpret his initial remark as anything other than a criticism of Jones.
There were numerous times during the first quarter and half where Giants wide receivers got open, but Jones was unable to connect with them. Jones had a wide-open Malik Nabers on 3rd-and-8 early in the first quarter and sailed a pass over the rookie’s head.
Malik Nabers WIDE open… $40 million QB sails it 10 feet over his head with a clean pocket. pic.twitter.com/aAEARcPoeg
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) November 10, 2024
Then in the second quarter, Daboll called a flea flicker on 3rd-and-1 from around midfield. Some will argue that Daboll tried to get too cute, but Wan’Dale Robinson was wide open on the play for what should have been a huge gain. Jones did not pull the trigger in time and instead took a sack.
The #Giants are in no position to get cute – they're ugly.
Still, the play design worked! Wan'Dale Robinson is wide open over the middle of the field and Jones ate the sack.
Brian Daboll was FURIOUS! pic.twitter.com/coLONjz0zq
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) November 10, 2024
The Giants insist they are sticking with Jones amid their 2-7 start to the season, but that was not the first time Daboll has publicly called out the quarterback. If New York continues to struggle, Daboll could find himself coaching for his job. It is fair to wonder how long he will stick with Jones.
