EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One drive late within the fourth quarter Monday evening towards the Dallas Cowboys summed up the state of the Giants completely. Trailing by 7 with about seven minutes remaining, Daniel Jones threw two of his finest passes of the evening, however his receivers, Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay, dropped them.
The drive stalled on the Giants’ 22-yard line and KaVontae Turpin’s punt return put the Cowboys in place for a 44-yard discipline purpose, primarily sealing the competition, which completed as a 23-16 Dallas victory.
The optimism surrounding the Giants’ first 2-0 begin since 2016 shortly turned to frustration as the sport opened with a sloppy first half wherein each groups missed field-goal makes an attempt and went into halftime with the Cowboys forward, 6-3.
It quickly remodeled right into a back-and-forth affair towards the top of the third quarter, as each groups scored speeding touchdowns on successive drives. After the Giants opened the second half with Graham Gano kicking a 51-yard discipline purpose to tie the rating, the group’s subsequent possession completed with operating again Saquon Barkley sorting by means of a congested line of scrimmage to burst into the top zone for a 36-yard rating to place the Giants up 13-6 after the additional level.
The Cowboys responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with an Ezekiel Elliott 1-yard landing run.
However within the fourth quarter, the Giants’ errors allowed Dallas to tug away. On a Cowboys’ first-and-10 from the Giants’ 27-yard line, a defensive breakdown allowed Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush to seek out receiver CeeDee Lamb for a 26-yard completion. Lamb completed the drive with an acrobatic one-handed catch for a 1-yard landing that pushed the rating to 20-13 with almost eight minutes remaining.
Jones might discover no such breakthroughs. He completed with 196 passing yards and was sacked 5 instances because the Cowboys’ cross rush continually pressured him. Within the Giants’ last offensive possession, with about one minute remaining and an opportunity to tie the sport, Jones threw an interception to cornerback Trevon Diggs, ending any comeback try.
Barkley, who’s making an attempt to revive his profession after years of significant accidents, rushed for 81 yards and a landing on 14 carries.
The Giants had compiled shut victories of their first two video games, overcoming a 13-point deficit to beat the Titans, 21-20, in Week 1 and besting the Panthers, 19-13, in a sluggish offensive outing in Week 2. The contests allowed the brand new coach, Brian Daboll, and basic supervisor, Joe Schoen, to guage their roster with an eye fixed towards the longer term. Due to questionable contracts doled out by the valuable management group, the Giants’ brass entered the season with salary-cap hassle. Subsequent yr, when these contracts are alleviated, the pair can have an anticipated $60 million to function in free company.
The brand new management has been daring in its technique, and has not apologized for its strategies. Golladay, the receiver acquired in free company by the Giants’ former management final season, has performed sparingly, as has the 2021 first-round choose Kadarius Toney.
“I believe one thing we need to create is as aggressive of a group as we are able to,” Daboll mentioned final week in a information convention. “No matter the place you’re drafted, how you bought right here, how a lot cash you make, we consider in all people goes on the market and competes, and we play the fellows that earn the proper to play that week.”
The rookie offensive deal with Evan Neal struggled, permitting three sacks towards the veteran defensive deal with DeMarcus Lawrence. Kayvon Thibodeaux, the rookie edge rusher who performed in his first sport for the Giants since injuring his knee in a preseason sport, registered one deal with.
The Cowboys, contrastingly, gained whereas overcoming key accidents and errors. The backup quarterback, Rush, taking part in whereas Dallas’s star quarterback, Dak Prescott, recovers from thumb surgical procedure, threw for 215 yards and a landing, whereas the operating backs Elliott and Tony Pollard mixed for 178 speeding yards. Lamb caught eight passes for 87 yards and a rating, regardless of dropping a possible landing cross within the second quarter.