The NY Giants offense had its strongest performance of the season, but was unable to deliver a game-winning drive in loss to the Cowboys.
Daniel Jones and the NY Giants‘ offense took over with 1:48 remaining in a tie game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, with the opportunity to notch head coach Joe Judge’s first career victory and a pivotal division win in the wide open — if not pathetic — NFC East.
Jones hit Slayton after breaking a tackle in the backfield and taking a monster of a hit just as he released the pass for a 14-yard gain to keep the drive alive. But, that was all the offense and Jones could muster.
Instead of Jones delivering a signature drive, the Giants punted the ball back to the Cowboys with :52 remaining and all three timeouts for Andy Dalton — who replaced Dak Prescott following Prescott suffering a gruesome ankle injury — to drive for a game-winning field goal.
Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein hit a 34-yard field goal as time expired to lift Dallas past the Giants 37-34.
Earlier, it was the Cowboys who showed the resilancy of a champion and the value of elite players at the skill positions that
Three plays after Prescott’s ankle buckled and he was carted off the field, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott gashed the Giants’ front-seven on a 12-yard touchdown run that gave the Cowboys a 31-23 lead with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter.
This was a game the Giants absolutely had to have, Jones had every opportunity to win, and yet it was the Cowboys who moved into first place in the division with their second victory.
Judge’s Giants showed more fight, and the offense showed more firepower than they had all season, but once again the young quarterback failed to seize the chance to deliver a signature performance.
The questions about his and the Giants’ future will only grow louder after Sunday.
Scroll through for five takeaways from the Giants’ loss:
This is what the offense was always meant to be
After four weeks of predictability and lack of ingenuity, Garrett pulled out all the stops, which was absolutely necessary to provide a spark against the Cowboys on Sunday.
From running a pair of jet-sweeps to tight end Evan Engram, including the Giants’ first touchdown of the game, exploiting the Cowboys’ propensity for giving up big plays on screen passes, and sticking with the running game throughout, this was as balanced and effective as the Giants’ offense looked all season.
Garrett even showed some creativity with a misdirection pass to rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas on a two-point conversion to lift the Giants to a 8:46 remaining.
The Giants produced a season-high 300 yards of total offense, scored the most points, and finally were able to dictate to a defense.
In a division race where the Philadelphia Eagles, Cowboys, Washington Football Team, and the Giants have now combined for four wins, with a home game against Washington slated for next week, if this is the offense that shows up for the rest of the season, the Giants have a chance to steal a couple of wins.
Unfortunately on Sunday, Jones and the offense weren’t able to seal the deal.
Scroll through for out four takeaways from Sunday’s loss:
Depth continues to be a major flaw
With 9:44 remaining in the third quarter, Daniel Jones hit wide receiver Darius Slayton perfectly in stride for what would have been a 31-yard touchdown pass … Until flags went flying on Damion Ratley for pass interference after he set a pick.
Slayton had broken open and beat the defender by at least two steps when Ratley made the illegal block, but the fact that he was even on the field in the first place underscores just how flawed the Giants roster is constructed.
General manager Dave Gettleman went into this season without signing a marquee free agent wide receiver, or choosing one in the NFL Draft, despite a historically deep and talented class at the position.
Maybe a veteran receiver still gets called for interference on the play, but the Giants are fielding young, unproven talents like Ratley at wide receiver, Ryan Lewis in the secondary, and Nick Gates at center despite the fact that Gates’ first snap at the position at any level of football came Week 1 against Pittsburgh.
It was hubris to think Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, and Sterling Shepard would be able to play 16 games — with Tate and Shepard already missing time this season — and the inability to prepare for that contingency in March or April forced Ratley on the field and took seven points off the board against the Cowboys.
These Daniel Jones turnovers continue to be back-breaking
No series of events quite encapsulates Daniel Jones as a quarterback quite like the Giants’ second possession of the second quarter on Sunday.
Facing a 3rd down and 9 from the Giants’ 26-yard line, Jones backpeddled in the pocket, threw off his back-foot and hit wide receiver Golden Tate for an 11-yard gain and a first down. But, on the very next play, Cowboys edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence blew past Giants rookie offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, crushed Jones from behind and forced a fumble that Anthony Brown returned for a touchdown.
Jones has at times shown tantalizing potential, but consistently struggled to protect the football.
In just 18 career games, Jones has already turned the ball over 31 times, including 22 career fumbles, losing 14 of them.
Jones finished Sunday 20-for-33 passing for 222 yards with, and he was sacked twice
Sunday, it wasn’t just the turnovers, it was another clutch moment that Jones was unable to deliver.
If the Giants continue down this path, with the potential of going 0-16 still a possibility, one has to wonder if Jones is the long-term answer.
Graham Gano continues to prove he’s worth every penny
Whether it was chip-shots or once again being deadly-accurate from beyond 50 yards, kicker Graham Gano continues to make the case that he is one of the most important players on the Giants’ roster.
Gano was perfect against the Cowboys, drilling field goals of 55, 54, 50, and 28 yards, once again proving that he was worth every penny the Giants paid him when he signed a one year contract worth $1.05 million this summer.
In a close game, Gano accounted for 13 points against the Cowboys, a contest the Giants absolutely needed to win. It wasn’t Gano’s fault that they didn’t.
Devonta Freeman gives offense a much-needed jolt
After two weeks of mastering the Giants’ playbook, Freeman emerged as the bellcow and looked every bit the part of the explosive downhill runner this offense needed to finally forge an identity.
Freeman finished Sunday’s game with 17 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown, while adding two catches for 27 yards, and set the tone for the Giants on the first offensive possession. Right out of the gate, Freeman rushed for 11 yards on three carries, including a nine-yard gain and added an explosive play on an 18-yard catch and run.
Sunday, Freeman finished with more rushing yards than any Giants running back to date this season. In addition to hard-nosed running up the middle, he also showed patience throughout the game letting the holes open in front of him before powering to the second-level
Instrumental in powering the Giants’ first touchdown drive in two-plus weeks, if Freeman is able to continue to play at this level, he’s going to be a focal point of a Giants’ offense. He might just be the key to the offense turning a corner in a big way.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.