I've Been Waiting All Day for a Sunday Night Letdown By: Hank Indictor
I had so much optimism and hope for this game. I legitimately thought the Giants would win with all the improvements made in the off-season. Not to mention, I had solid reason to feel that the Cowboys were being overhyped, which they are as usual but thats neither here not there. To any Cowboys fans I talked shit to, please feel free to have a field day with me! But for now, let's get to my takeaways from last night's disaster.
False Start = False Hope: On the first drive of the game, the Giants looked like they were cooking, and as they got deep into Cowboys territory, they faced a 3rd and 2. It all went downhill from there. A false start on Andrew Thomas (more on him later) was the start of it. Then, on the next play, Center John Michael Schmitz botched a snap, and the Giants nearly lost the football. And the icing on the cake? Graham Gano's Field Goal was blocked, and the 58-yard Touchdown return on the recovery by Noah Igbinoghene gave Dallas their first score. Also, it didn't help that the ordinarily reliable kicker missed his other field goals (he had only missed 3 in all of 2022!). Graham GaYes, he was not.
Daniel Jones is getting scapegoated again: The 2nd INT where he tried to force a throw to Darren Waller, but it landed into Stephon Gilmore's hands, was entirely on Jones. But other than that, while you can't say he was great, it's incredibly shortsighted to fault him for the Giant's poor performance. After all, Jones only had about 2-3 seconds to throw the ball. It also didn't help that a tipped ball led to the pick-six he had! But back to the O-Line for a bit.
Evan Neal: After a rough rookie season, he continued to show regression. During some sacks, you could see Cowboys such as DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons treating him like a Subway Turnstile. If this continues, is it time to consider moving him to Guard?
The Battle in the Trenches: Ultimately, this is the main reason the Giants lost this game. Plain and simple. Dak Prescott may not have thrown a Touchdown pass, but he didn't need to! Still, he threw for 143 yards, and Tony Pollard scored two touchdowns. And it also helped that their O-Line didn't allow a single sack. In contrast, the Giants allowed poor Daniel Jones to be sacked a glaring seven times!! NO BUENO!!!! The Cowboys also won the turnover battle 3-0.
Andrew Thomas: Last year, I was on record for saying that Thomas was the most valuable member of the Giants offense, and I stand by that. He ended up hurting his hamstring during this game and ultimately had to leave early. Now, his status is in serious question. Let me put it this way: if Saquon Barkley gets hurt, at least Matt Breida isn't the worst option. But with Thomas potentially out, who replaces him?
The Positives: Oh wait, never mind, I can't find any!
The bottom line is simply this. The Giants were merely outclassed and outplayed in their building on National T.V., losing 40-0 to their hated rivals. I can also blame the awful weather, but the Cowboys had to play in it, too. And whether or not the Giants are back to being what UrinatingTree calls "the derp" remains to be seen. But this squad has a lot of work to do, and they desperately need reinforcements. That said, we're on to Arizona!