No eye contact, no illegal touching.
Giants cornerback Adoree Jackson was penalized Sunday for a controversial 36-yard pass interference foul that negated a blocked third down and turned the tide for the Vikings to score a go-ahead touchdown and win the game 28-6.
Was it an incorrect call — offensive pass interference against receiver Jordan Addison, who appeared to initiate contact by jumping on Jackson's back to catch a botched pass from Sam Darnold?
“He knows that,” Jackson said. “And when I say 'he,' I mean the umpire. So he wouldn't look at me, he wouldn't talk to me. You saw Addison try to take my helmet off. I turned around and looked for the ball. There was nothing I could do.”
Jackson's penalty was one of 95 yards against the Giants, converting a third down and 8 yards. Three plays later, the Vikings scored to take a 7-3 lead.
“The umpires are sorry,” Jackson said. “They should hear me say that. They should get fined just like we get fined for other things. It was a stupid call. The umpires know it. If I knew I made a bad call, I wouldn't watch myself.”
“You heard the crowd's reaction. You saw the screen and you could tell. So he knows he made a bad decision. And he threw it late. Come on, let's do it.”
The eight-year veteran cornerback re-signed with the Giants after neither Cordale Flott nor Nick McCloud convincingly won the starting spot in training camp. McCloud started in the spot Jackson occupied last season, but Jackson also played a fair bit, especially after McCloud (knee) was sidelined late in the game with a knee injury.
Jackson didn't seem too concerned about the fine being deducted from his $97,222 match check on his $1.75 million salary.
“What am I being accused of? It's a fact,” Jackson said. “If they want to accuse me of that, they need to look at the facts a little more. [finding]”If I get a penalty and it's not called on the field, I get fined. If they get mad because I told the truth, that should tell you something about them.”
It was a predictably tough day for the secondary, which was one of the biggest concerns in the preseason and faced a tough matchup with Addison and All-Pro Justin Jefferson in Week 1. Darnold finished 12 of 12 for 208 yards.
McCloud couldn't cut the edge on Aaron Jones' 3-yard touchdown run, Flott accidentally jumped a route, allowing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Naylor and the respectable work of No. 1 cornerback Deonte Banks, who accompanied Jefferson, was overshadowed by a 3-yard touchdown pass on a quick slant on fourth down.
“I tried to push my hand in there and he caught it,” Banks said. “Nice play by him. I thought I really got the ball out.”
Flott was a surprising move to the slot, where he played most of last season but didn't take any snaps during training camp as he tried to earn the position by starting on the perimeter.
Rookie Jrue Phillips induced a fumble on his first NFL tackle, giving the team good field position but ultimately resulting in a field goal.
But Jackson's penalty was the most significant.
“It was questionable,” linebacker Brian Barnes said, “and it was a great play. He knew it. That's what kind of saved them.”
