Daniel Jones on 49ers’ trash talk: ‘They won. So we’re focused on us’

Daniel Jones calmly dismissed the San Francisco 49ers’ trashing of his play and his contract on Thursday, one week after a humbling 30-12 road loss in Santa Clara.

“Yeah, I saw it,” Jones said of Niners players’ comments. “I’m focused on what we’re doing here with these guys and trying to get back on track.”

Jones said it doesn’t bother him because the 49ers earned their talk with a victory, holding the Giants to only 150 total offensive yards.

“No, I mean, they won,” Jones said. “They’ve got good players on defense, and they won. So we’re focused on us, focused on what we’re doing here.”

Still, it’s open season on the Giants’ quarterback, clearly, after he secured that $40 million-a-year long-term contract.

Several Niners players made snide remarks to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver after the Week 3 blowout about Jones’ performance and pay.

“A lot of people who make all that money don’t even deserve it,” linebacker Dre Greenlaw said. “I think they took a chance [when they paid him]. I mean, he’s not bad. And if you ain’t got nothing better …”

Niners cornerback Charvarius Ward chimed in: “Yeah, 40 million dollars a year is a lot of money.” Yet another 49ers defender called Jones’ salary “unbelievable,” while another called it “ridiculous” and a third said: “That’s a travesty, man.”

“The dude did not want to throw the ball,” an anonymous 49ers defender said. “Early on, you could tell it wasn’t gonna happen. Everything was a checkdown. At that point, we knew what time it was.”

Jones is accustomed to the shade. His No. 6 overall selection has been the subject of ridicule ever since he arrived on the Giants in the spring of 2019.

Baker Mayfield famously ripped the Jones pick in 2019, telling GQ Magazine: “I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones. Blows my mind.”

Mayfield said the reason so many so-called expert quarterback scouts seem unable to predict NFL talent is that “some people overthink it. That’s where people go wrong. They forget you’ve gotta win… Either you have a history of winning and being that guy for your team, or you don’t.”

Jones got the last laugh on Mayfield. The former No. 1 overall Browns pick has become a journeyman afterthought, while Jones earned a huge payday with last year’s run to the playoffs.

Jones laughed on Thursday when asked why multiple people now, including Mayfield, have felt comfortable ripping his game publicly.

“I don’t know,” Jones said with a laugh. “You’d have to ask them.”

But he isn’t armed as good a comeback for the 49ers’ barbs.

The Giants have scored a total of 43 points in three games entering Monday night’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks, who have scored 37 in each of their last two games.

Jones ranks 30th out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks in yards per completion at 5.8, tied with the Colts’ Gardner Minshew. That’s lower than the Falcons’ Desmond Ridder (6.3), the Patriots’ Mac Jones (6.0), the Bears’ Justin Fields (6.0) and the Colts’ Anthony Richardson (5.9).

The only quarterbacks with lower yards per completion are the Jets’ Zach Wilson (5.6), who is on the verge of being run out of town; the Bengals’ Joe Burrow (4.7), who is playing on one leg; and Panthers rookie Bryce Young (4.2).

In fairness to Jones, he frequently doesn’t have time to throw the ball, which is the Giants’ biggest problem.

Giants quarterbacks have been pressured on 40.2% of their dropbacks, which is seventh-worst in the NFL. And the Giants’ O-line has allowed 12 sacks, which is tied for fourth-most in the league. Tyrod Taylor has played snaps at the end of two of the Giants’ three games.

According to NextGen Stats, Jones is the only quarterback to face a 40% overall pressure rate since he entered the NFL in 2019 at 41.2%.

He was pressured on 43.8% of his dropbacks in 2019 (31st in NFL), 43.2% in 2020 (35th), 26% in 2021 (22nd) and 42.1% in 2022 (32nd). And he had been pressured on 42.7% (6th highest) entering the Niners loss.

It’s gotten so bad that it seems Jones is starting to see pressure when it isn’t there, and it’s affecting the accuracy of some of his throws, like two that were off-target to Darren Waller at San Francisco.

Brian Daboll admitted as much this week when asked if too much pressure can cause a QB to rush his process and anticipate it even when it’s not coming.

“I think there is always an element to that,” Daboll said. “When you can affect the quarterback, I think it speeds up things. There is always when you are game planning, shorter routes, get it out quicker, less of the protection. You want to run deep routes, you have some more protection in.

“So [that’s] definitely an area that we’ve got to improve is making sure that we give our quarterback a clean pocket,” Daboll said. “And it’s not just always the line. There is backs involved, there is timing in the passing the game, there is receivers getting open, so it’s really a collective thing when it comes to that.”

Jones refused on Thursday to use the dirty pocket as an excuse for his missed throws when it’s clean, or even when a defender is in his face.

“Part of playing in the NFL is dealing with the pass rush,” Jones said. “You’ve gotta be able to execute in a busy pocket at times. Every team has got good pass rushers. You’ve got to be able to execute and perform regardless of circumstance.”

As for why other people are counting Jones’ money, he said: “Yeah, I guess some people are like that, where they feel the need to do that. That’s fine. That’s part of it.”

But he knows the best way to shut them up — just like he shut up Mayfield — is to play better. That’s the Giants’ only recourse, and it’s Jones’ only option, too.

THE INJURY REPORT

Five Giants players were limited at Thursday’s padded practice, the team’s first real football in a week: RB Saquon Barkley (high right ankle sprain), LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring), edge Azeez Ojulari (hamstring), TE Daniel Bellinger (neck) and DL D.J. Davidson (left elbow). Barkley was moving gingerly and didn’t appear full strength but was taking handoffs and catching a few passes in individual drills. Ojulari looked good taking on blockers. Thomas said the practice was “not bad.” It’s unclear if Bellinger sustained the injury at San Francisco or in Thursday’s practice. Left guard Ben Bredeson (concussion) was full, which means he likely will be out of the protocol on Friday.