5 NY Giants takeaways from the embarrassing loss to the Cowboys in primetime

Thud. How do you even put into words that effort from the NY Giants against the Cowboys on Sunday night? The Giants were underdogs, but plenty of fans had hope that Daniel Jones would live up to his contract and the defense would make life difficult for Dak Prescott.

In the end, way too many self-inflicted wounds cost the Giants big time in their embarrassing 40-0 loss to Dallas during Sunday Night Football. This was the worst start possible for the Giants, as the Cowboys dominated this contest from start to finish. Here are our takeaways from the action, but there isn't much positive to say:

5. The Giants weren't mentally ready for this one

What makes a team great is how they can bounce back when faced with adversity. We saw that the Giants weren't ready for that against the Cowboys. The first drive of the night was awesome for NY, with Jones driving the team right down the field. It felt like it was written in the stars that a touchdown would be scored.

Then the wheels fell off. On third down, rookie center John Michael Schmitz delivered a terrible snap to Jones, resulting in a big loss. Then, Graham Gano took the field and his field-goal attempt was blocked by the Cowboys and taken back 58 yards for a touchdown. That was the first haymaker landed by Dallas and NY could never recover:

Things were so bad for the Giants in the first half, that Gano even missed a 36-yard try too. He's usually automatic, but even he had an off night for Big Blue. To make matters worse, he was dealing with an injury after the game and had to get X-rays. All you can do is shake your head at the team's performance throughout the night. The Cowboys were fired up to post a huge game and the Giants didn't match their intensity, plain and simple.

4. Evan Neal hasn't improved at all and that's a problem

The offensive line as a whole looked rough against the Cowboys impressive pass-rush, but starting right tackle Evan Neal once again has people calling him a bust. When the Giants used a first-round pick on him last campaign, fans were excited to see him line up on the opposite end of the offensive line from Andrew Thomas.

Neal looked silly multiple times on the night in his pass-protection, with Micah Parsons having his way with him. In the first half alone, Jones was sacked four times (Dallas had seven total). That's unacceptable from the OL, especially after all the strides it looked like they had made during the offseason. Neal himself was looking more confident in practice, but he didn't show up in Week 1.

A former No. 7 overall pick, Neal was supposed to make a big jump during his second campaign with Big Blue. His performance against the Cowboys has people ready to throw in the towel on him already. There's still plenty of time for him to get better and earn trust from the fanbase, but they're starting to lose patience and fast. Neal has to flush this game and focus on Week 2. However, if he struggles again and doesn't play better moving forward, then people will only keep calling him out.

3. The Cowboys defense owned the Giants offense on the night

We really, really hate to give credit to the Dallas defense, but they did everything right against the Giants offense. Outside of the opening drive for New York, Dallas shut the Giants down. Jones' play (more on that later in this article) was telling of how great Dallas looked in containing the Big Blue playmakers.

The pass-rush was brilliant, with Dorance Armstrong and Osa Odigihizuwa each posting two sacks, while Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were a problem too. Not only that, but the Dallas secondary was barely letting the Giants pass-catchers breathe. In the first quarter, with Dallas up 9-0, Daniel Jones tried to hit Saquon Barkley, but he was hit immediately by Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland came away with the ball and took it back for six. Unreal.

Later on in the first half, Jones tried to make some magic happen before flying out of bounds, but a terrible throw from him resulted in a Stephon Gilmore interception. Fans were ripping Jones for that INT and rightfully so. It was the kind of decision you'd expect from a rookie signal-caller, not a fifth-year QB who just received a $160 million extension.

2. Giants fans were brought down to earth with this loss

We came into this game thinking that the Giants had a chance - however small it may be - to win the NFC East. Tonight was a reminder that this team still has a long way to go to compete with the powers of the division: the Eagles and Cowboys. Last season, the Giants were swept by both rivals, with the Eagles also taking their lunch money in the NFC Divisional Round.

Big Blue had a great opportunity to make a statement. Brian Daboll and Co. wanted the rest of the league to be put on notice. However, the Giants played what we can only imagine will turn out to be their worst game of the season. The hype surrounding this team ahead of Week 1 was massive - the new-look offense figured to give Dallas issues.

Instead, the Giants, who made the postseason last year, had a disastrous night. There are no positives to take away from this. The rookies didn't play well, with Jalin Hyatt also having a drop in the first half that left plenty of people scratching their heads. Neal, Ben Bredeson and the entire OL had no answers for the Dallas pass-rush and special teams was a joke too. Oh, and let's not forget about the QB...

1. Daniel Jones wasn't good enough for the Giants on Sunday night

Yes, the play of the offensive line was horrible and Jones barely had any time to scan the field. With that said, Jones played terribly and there's no defending the way he looked against the Cowboys. Jones final stats for the game were awful: he went 15-of-28 for 104 yards, no touchdowns and two picks. What happened to the young man who looked so sharp last year?

General manager Joe Schoen took a risk in giving him his $160 million deal, but with the way the QB market is set, he had little choice. NY supporters were hoping that Jones would prove all of his haters wrong and live up to that contract in Week 1. A 275-yard night with 2-3 touchdowns would have been just what the doctor ordered.

Jones' night was highlighted by his turnovers instead of touchdowns, though, which is easy because he never found the end zone. Jones and the Giants will have a fantastic opportunity to bounce back in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. There will be no excuses for the G-Men in that meeting. With the way Week 1 went, a win is desperately needed to provide the fanbase with some hope. It will be on Jones to clean things up and record a huge showing in the first road contest of the year. No more excuses for him.

READ MORE: NY Giants fans are ripping Daniel Jones for INT to Stephon Gilmore