Daniel Jones and the Giants visit Washington looking to bounce back from their rough season opener

Daniel Jones looked out of sorts in the New York Giants' season opener, his first game back from ACL surgery. One of his two interceptions was a pick-6, and home fans showered him with boos.

It could not have gone much worse. He also could not have picked a better opponent to bounce back against.

Jones and the Giants visit the Commanders, also 0-1 with major questions on defense and a history of struggling against New York's much-maligned quarterback. Jones has dominated Washington his entire NFL career, and Sunday is the next chance for “Danny Dimes” to get his mojo back.

“Everybody here is rallying around Daniel,” left guard Jon Runyan said. “He’s in there, he’s grinding. He’s in the weight room, and he’s going get this thing right. I know it, and I think we all trust and believe that he will.”

Jones has beaten Washington, with three different team names, since getting drafted sixth in 2019. He's 5-1-1 with 11 touchdowns (10 passing), three interceptions, 1,510 yards in the air and 324 more on the ground.

Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner brushed that off because he was not around for any of those games, and he is one of six new starters on defense. But that doesn't mean he and his teammates are underestimating Jones after a brutal Week 1 performance.

“He does a really good job using his feet, creating plays,” Wagner said. “That's what makes it hard. I think when he has time, he makes really good throws, and so our job is to not give him time. When you let him get some time and use his legs, he can be dangerous.”

Dan Quinn, who coached against Jones plenty as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator the past three years, said the 27-year-old's ability to extend plays beyond the normal 2.3-second throwing window is also a factor.

“He’s got speed and athleticism,” Quinn said. “He remains a runner, where some QBs would go and get down or get out bounds. So, he remains in that space and really has confidence in his running ability, which he should.”

Confidence, eh? Retired QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said he thinks Jones' confidence is “at an all-time low,” which is especially difficult in the New York market, where he played for the Jets in two of his 15 pro seasons.

"Your confidence is shaken, and you don’t play well," said Fitzpatrick, who's now an analyst for Amazon's “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts. “He’s not playing well. He knows he’s not playing well."

Jones, for his part, said his “mental toughness is in a good spot.”

"I’m not concerned about that," he said. “I feel like I’ve been doubted plenty for a long time and dealt with that time and time again and done a good job with it.”

The doubting continues. Fitzpatrick's Amazon teammate and three-time All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said he tries not to be overly critical of players in this role.

“You know how tough it is to be criticized when you’re in a slump,” Sherman said. “Except Daniel Jones. It’s tough not to criticize Daniel Jones.”

Washington rookie Jayden Daniels had a respectable NFL debut, completing 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and rushing for 88 yards. Quinn would like to see Daniels cut down on the runs from 16 at Tampa Bay, but that — like a lot of things — will come with experience, and the No. 2 pick out of LSU has bought into his first few games being a learning experience.

“I could grow in every aspect of my game,” Daniels said. “You watch the tape (and realize) it’s never as good as you thought it was, it’s never as bad as you thought it was, so you just move on.”

There was a reason the Giants scored a league-low six points in the season opener. They didn’t play well on first down and hurt their chances of maintaining drives by losing 39 yards because of penalties.

Three of their five first-half drives featured second- and third-down plays of more than 13 yards. The longest of their 11 first-down plays in the first half was 7 yards. Most were 4 or less.

There was some improvement in the second half, but by that time the Vikings led 28-6.

“There’s really no offense that’s going to work if you can’t get any yards on first down and you’re sitting in second and long,” Giants guard Jon Runyan Jr. said. “The playbook shrinks to really, really small and you don’t have many options.”

Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes is scheduled to have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team had not announced the plan.

Forbes said Wednesday he initially planned to play Sunday.

The Commanders got carved up by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in Week 1, allowing 392 yards and 37 points. That is not sustainable, and they know it.

“A lot of guys are feeling like we didn’t perform the way we wanted to perform,” Wagner said. “Just want to communicate better, want to be flying around, make more plays and just get off the field.”

The question mark for the Giants’ defense has been its young secondary. New York lost safety Xavier McKinney to Green Bay in free agency and didn’t re-sign cornerback Adoree' Jackson until just before the season opener. It left Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton and rookie Tyler Nubin at safety and Cor’Dale Flott, Deonte Banks and rookie Dru Phillips at cornerback.

The hope was the combination of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns would pressure opposing quarterbacks and help the secondary. It didn’t happen against Minnesota, as Lawrence had the team's only sack, Thibodeaux had a pressure and no tackles and Burns had four tackles and nothing else. They need to be better.

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels scrambles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) warms up before an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) walks off the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) walks off the field after the 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) jogs off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) walks off the field after throwing a pick-6 during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag savored the “perfect night” after routing third-division Barnsley 7-0 in the English League Cup on Tuesday.

It was United's biggest margin of victory under the Dutchman, who has been in charge for more than two years.

Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen all scored two goals each in the third round match at Old Trafford, with Antony also on target.

“Not for me, but for the team, this is the perfect night. I think we could do everything that we planned to do. We won, (we are in) next round, scored some great goals, entertained the fans and we worked on our game model, so we are happy,” Ten Hag said.

The size of the victory surpassed United's previous best under Ten Hag: 4-1 wins against Real Betis and Chelsea in his first season at the club. It was the biggest since a 9-0 win over Southampton under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021.

Encouragingly for Ten Hag, Rashford's scoring touch appears to have returned after a troubled season last year when he managed just nine goals.

Rashford's double came after he ended a 12-game barren run with a goal against Southampton over the weekend.

“Football is football. Sometimes you have ups and sometimes downs, but we have to use these games to get momentum and consistency," Rashford said.

Garnacho also scored in that 3-0 win in the Premier League and emulated Rashford by making it three goals in his last two games.

Eriksen struck twice late on.

Rashford blasted United in front after cutting inside Marc Roberts in the 16th minute. Antony doubled the lead when winning and then converting a penalty in the 35th.

Garnacho poked home from close range in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.

United overpowered Barnsley after the break with Garnacho scoring his second when racing through on goal in the 49th. Rashford scored again in the 58th.

It was the first time Rashford has scored more than one goal in a game since February 2023.

Eriksen's double came in the 81st and 85th.

Bottom of the Premier League and without a point, Everton’s troubled campaign went from bad to worse after it was eliminated by second-to-last Southampton — losing 6-5 on penalties.

The Merseyside team had taken the lead through Abdoulaye Doucoure in the 20th at Goodison Park, but Taylor Harwood-Bellis evened the game in the 32nd.

Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy saved Ashley Young's penalty in sudden death to seal Everton's fate.

Eberechi Eze struck the winner as Crystal Palace beat second-division Queens Park Rangers 2-1 and Brentford survived an early scare against third-tier Leyton Orient to win 3-1.

Brandon Cooper fired Orient ahead in the 11th, but Fabio Carvalho, Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard eased Brentford to victory.

Second-division Preston secured the biggest shock of the night by beating Fulham 16-15 in an epic penalty shootout.

The game ended 1-1 at full time with Ryan Ledson putting Preston ahead in the 35th and Reiss Nelson equalizing for Fulham in the 61st.

What followed was the longest shootout in League Cup history with Preston eventually triumphing after 34 spot kicks.

After 32 penalties were successfully converted, Fulham's Timothy Castagne missed the target and Ledson made no mistake to fire Preston into the fourth round.

It was a different story as Stoke overcame Fleetwood 2-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Sheffield Wednesday beat Blackpool 1-0.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Crystal Palace's Eddie Nketiah, center, celebrates scoring during the English League Cup third round soccer match between Queens Park Rangers QPR and Crystal Palace at the Loftus Road Stadium, London, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Queens Park Rangers' Karamoko Dembele, left, and Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell in action during the English League Cup third round soccer match between Queens Park Rangers QPR and Crystal Palace at the Loftus Road Stadium, London, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Leyton Orient's Sonny Perkins, left, and Brentford's Christian Norgaard battle for the ball during the English League Cup third round soccer match at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Preston North End's Ryan Ledson, center, celebrates scoring during the English League Cup third round soccer match between Preston and Fulham at Deepdale, Preston, England, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)

Everton's Michael Keane, left, and Southampton's Adam Armstrong battle for the ball during the English League Cup third round soccer match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2024. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho is celebrated by Manchester United's Casemiro after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Christian Eriksen celebrates after scoring the 6th goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford after scoring the fifth goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, top, is tackled by Barnsley's Barry Cotter during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag claps hands prior to the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford scores the opening goal against Barnsley's goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Antony, right, reacts to Manchester United's goalkeeper Altay Bayindir at halftime during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Antony, left, celebrates scoring with Alejandro Garnacho during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates with Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho, left, after scoring the fifth goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and Barnsley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)