Giants grades vs. Cowboys: A couple of big F's in Big D
Giants head coach Brian Daboll watches play against the Dallas Cowboys in the second half of an NFL game Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
OFFENSE: B+
Sure, they racked up 37 points and 506 yards and had three touchdown passes of 29 or more yards that should have been enough to get them a top grade, but starting out 0-for-4 in the red zone and not capitalizing on their one defensive takeaway with a fourth-down stall at the 10 early in the third quarter lingered over all the production that followed. Russell Wilson punctuated what should have been a career-day — and a career-salvaging day — with an ugly and costly interception as he and Malik Nabers were not in sync.
DEFENSE: F
The Giants took leads of 23-20 with 12:07 left in regulation, 30-27 with 2:44 left, 37-34 with 25 seconds left and the defense couldn’t hold any of them. The Giants couldn’t get a stop in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys scored points on their last five possessions of regulation. Paulson Adebo, their top cornerback, was beaten for a touchdown in the final minute of that fourth quarter and then for a 27-yard gain that set up the game-winning field goal in overtime. Abdul Carter had one tackle.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Opening the game with a 67-yard kickoff return by Gunner Olszewski that was brought back because of a holding penalty on Swayze Bozeman was about as big an omen as this game could have had. After that the Cowboys mostly kicked away from Olszewski but he did have a 22-yard punt return that put the Giants in decent position with 2:49 left in overtime. Graham Gano was 3-for-3 on field goals.
COACHING: F
The Giants committed 21 penalties, 14 of which were enforced, and lost 160 yards because of the ones that were, all of which lands on the desk of Brian Daboll with a thud. He has an acronym for the team identity that is D.A.W.G. and the very first letter in that stands for discipline. The Giants showed an embarrassing lack of that.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
