Giants fans walk out on team, Daniel Jones early during dreadful season-opener

The New York Giants didn't necessarily have lofty expectations entering the 2024 season. Yes, they did add the likes of pass rusher Brian Burns and wide receiver Malik Nabers, but they did allow running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney to walk in free agency. Plus, the team was running it back with Daniel Jones at quarterback, who had an injury-riddled campaign last year and has been hit-or-miss throughout his career.

On paper, the Giants should have been able to have a competitive game against the Minnesota Vikings, as they are dealing with uncertainty at quarterback. The thing is, the Giants defense made Sam Darnold look like the quarterback the New York Jets fanbase was hoping they drafted back in 2018. As for Jones, well, he looked every bit as shaky as he did in the past.

In the third quarter, Jones threw an incredibly brutal interception to Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who walked into the end zone for the touchdown. The Giants trailed 28-6 after the play.

Some fans in attendance at MetLife Stadium saw enough after the pick-six, and headed for the exits, as Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post caught on film.

Giants fans walk out of disastrous season-opener vs. Vikings

That's certainly not an image that team owner John Mara envisioned seeing for the first game of the season. The Giants were opening up their 100th season as a franchise and were debuting their "Century Red" uniforms, paying homage to their history. Picking up a win would have been ideal.

Instead, Mara saw an irritated section of his fanbase decide that beating the traffic out of the Meadowlands was a better use of time than watching the Giants play football. Not only that, but Mara heard fans boo the team loudly off the field numerous times during the game.

To make matters worse for Mara, he saw his former running back in Barkley account for three touchdowns in his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday against the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants tried their hardest to land a quarterback in the NFL Draft this offseason, as they were filmed by HBO for "Hard Knocks" trying to negotiate a trade with the New England Patriots to land the No. 3 overall pick. The Giants were reportedly targeting Drake Maye with the pick. Instead, the Patriots stood pat and decided to take Maye for themselves. Instead, they decided to run it back with Jones again and hoped that a bolstered offensive line and a new top target in Nabers would help.

If Week 1 proved anything, neither has helped.

Giants fans have been used to bad seasons over the past decade, but were pleasantly surprised with a 2022 season that resulted in a playoff win. But for those in the video above, just under three quarters of the 2024 season was all they could stomach.