Can Brian Daboll save NY Giants from the QB drama with Daniel Jones? They better hope so.

EAST RUTHERFORD - Like it or not, the Giants set themselves up for this quarterback drama.

Less than 24 hours after a disheartening season opening loss in which his team was booed off its home field, Brian Daboll was asked if he was benching Daniel Jones. The backdrop to that question - heck, this entire season even before it began in such regrettable fashion against the Vikings - was established months ago thanks to the "Hard Knocks" cameras that were welcomed into 1925 Giants Drive.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen led the courtship of Jones' potential replacement in the scouting process. We watched as team brass weighed the options, talked openly about the uncertainty facing Jones as he recovered from ACL surgery and got up close and personal with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye (and others).

One of the most telling scenes from "Hard Knocks" came in the pre-draft discussions between Schoen and Daboll, among others, and Daboll acknowledged that he would absolutely trade up for Daniels. The Giants, of course, wound up selecting wide receiver Malik Nabers, Daniels' teammate at LSU.

The fact that the emptiness regarding Jones' performance against the Vikings on Sunday now is compounded by the Giants' trip to Landover, Maryland, where they will face Daniels and the Commanders for the first time.

Here's what it comes down to for the Giants: can Daboll save the franchise from this drama and figure out a way to get the best out of Jones to win some games? That responsibility falls on his shoulders, and based on what we saw Sunday, given the circumstances surrounding Jones' level of play, it's a significant ask - maybe even greater than winning three games last season with an undrafted rookie quarterback from Jersey.

The Giants did not hide their willingness to trade up to get Daniels or Maye. Washington was not going to even consider dealing the No. 2 pick to a NFC East rival for the Giants to take Daniels, and the Patriots were adamant that they would only part with the No. 3 pick for a Godfather offer.

It's certainly worth wondering whether the Giants should have emptied the coffers to make the Patriots an offer they could not refuse after sitting through what we witnessed Sunday. It's just one game, but the regret felt much heavier.

Jones is 3-1 in his starts in the stadium formerly called FedEx Field, changed recently to Northwest Stadium. He's also 5-1-1 in his career against the Commanders.

If Jones can't figure out a way to function - he holds the keys to the offense - the Giants will have no choice but to consider other options. And those options are Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito, not Daniels, Maye or any other quarterback who was on their board back in April.

And now the Giants face Daniels in his home debut.

“Everybody here is rallying around Daniel," Giants left guard Jon Runyan said. “We’ve been seeing him this whole offseason, he’s been here this whole time, he’s been working really hard, he’s in all the meetings with [quarterbacks coach and offensive pass game coordinator] Shea [Tierney], with coach Dabs, he’s in the weight room and he’s gonna get this thing right, I know it. And I think we all trust him and believe that he will."

The best thing you can say about Jones' season debut is he came out of the game healthy, at least physically, after the neck and knee injuries placed uncertainty on his immediate future. The worry at the moment with Jones is whether the beatings he took behind that offensive line last season, the many previous ways the Giants, as John Mara said, screwed him up, have truly stripped Jones of the swagger and confidence with which he once played.

Daboll was praised for his work with Jones two years ago, and the combination of Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito last year, and rightfully so. But the scrutiny of the Giants will increase this week, which means the criticism of Daboll and the speculation of an improbable return of Bill Belichick will only get louder.

“Our job is to produce," Daboll said. "And we didn’t get the job done."

Team brass wound up sticking with Jones, the thought being that if he could rediscover the game that Pat Shurmur believed made him special as a rookie, what led Schoen and Daboll to give him that contract worth $160 million many mock now, the Giants could win despite whatever limitations he may not be able to shake.

What's most concerning now: the Giants looked like a team that will have trouble winning at all with where Jones is at right now. They need him to be so much better, and it's on Daboll to get Jones in position to prove he is again capable of doing that.

"Look, nothing was good enough," Daboll said. "Make no excuses. Got to work to get better."

One game in, the Giants' season in Daboll's third year already depends on it.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Can Brian Daboll save NY Giants from the QB drama with Daniel Jones? They better hope so.