New York Giants: Report card vs. Cowboys in Week 2

The New York Giants fell to 0-2 on the season with a brutal 20-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. Here we take a look at their report card.

The New York Giants are in trouble — big trouble. Big Blue’s embarrassing 20-13 setback to the Dallas Cowboys (the score wasn’t that close) has put the G-Men in a precarious position.

Since the beginning of the current playoff forma,t teams that begin the season 0-2 miss the playoffs 88 percent of the time  The Giants are 0-2 and look terrible. Their performance in Big D is worrisome. What’s more, Big Blue has now started 0-2 for the fifth time in the last six years.

Let’s take at look at their report card against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Offense

The Giants have dynamic offensive weapons in Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard, but it doesn’t matter if their offensive line continues to play like one of the worst units in the league.

Quarterback Eli Manning (33-of-44, 279 yards, one lost fumble) was sacked six times for 59 yards in losses and looked shell-shocked every time he got up off the turf. He was under duress all game long and took numerous hits as well. If this keeps up, the Iron Man of the NFL is not going to make it through the season. The revamped offensive line has been a complete bust so far. It has to be fixed. Also, where was the creative play calling from head coach Pat Shurmur?

Barkley had 14 receptions for 80 yards, mostly on dump offs from Manning. The Penn State product was held to just 28 yards on 11 carries as the G-Men gained only 35 total yards on the ground. No team can win like that. The Cowboys did an excellent job containing Beckham (four catches for 51 yards). Engram (7-67) scored New York’s lone touchdown on a 18-yard reception from Manning in garbage time. Too little, too late.

Grade: F

Defense

The tone of this debacle was set early when Cowboys wide receiver Tavon Austin burned Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins for a 64-yard touchdown on the third play of the contest. It was all down hill for Big Blue after that.

New York did not produce enough pressure on quarterback Dak Prescott, who was not sacked the entire game. He looked far too comfortable in the pocket. Prescott (16-of-25, 160 yards, one touchdown) hurt the G-Men with his scrambling ability (45 yards) when the pocket collapsed.

Halfback Ezekiel Elliott did not go ballistic against Big Blue (17 carries for 78 yards, one touchdown), but he was effective on the edges and between the tackles. The Giants held Dallas to just three third-down conversions in 10 opportunities, a solid effort there. New York allowed only 16 first downs and 298 total yards, a performance that should win most games. Not this one, however.

Grade: C-

Special Teams

Aldrick Rosas connected on both of his field goal attempts from 38 and 28 yards away. Rosas also executed New York’s fourth quarter onside kick perfectly. Michael Thomas recovered the pigskin. Beckham made his return as a punt returner, if only for one time (a three-yard return). We’ll see if he gets any more opportunities moving forward. Cody Latimer averaged 28 yards on two kickoff returns. Ho-hum.

Grade: B