Similar problems cost the Giants a game they should have won vs. the Dallas Cowboys – Key takeaways from Week 2
The New York Giants can’t get out of their own way, as they lose to the Dallas Cowboys 40-37 in Week 2.
The New York Giants lost in one of their most frustrating performances under Brian Daboll. Their 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys was filled with exciting highs and mind-numbing lows.
Let’s dig into what went wrong and right for New York.
Red zone struggles haunt the Giants
Today’s red zone woes may have been the most frustrating we’ve seen. The Giants actually generated several splash plays to string together competent drives.
Every time it seemed they were developing a serviceable offense, a costly mistake would prevent them from finishing. The first two red zone trips finished with field goals, while the first drive of the second half ended with a failed fourth-down conversion. They finished the game with just one touchdown in five red zone trips.
While 37 points doesn’t sound like a poor offensive performance, it’s an issue that 15 points were left on the board in a close game like this. Most of the touchdowns scored were from heaves by Russell Wilson. Those plays were exhilarating, but they couldn’t make up for the lack of early execution.
A positive takeaway from this is that their problems finally motivated the Giants to use rookie Jaxson Dart in a zone-read situation. His first appearance led to a long run by Cam Skattebo to the one-yard line that was later capped off by an easy walk-in touchdown.
Way too many penalties
The number of penalties the Giants had today was atrocious. It started with replacement left tackle James Hudson III having a meltdown. After he was promptly benched for rookie Marcus Mbow, the problems continued.
Penalties occurred in every facet of this game. From pass interferences to late hits, their constant mistakes kept the Cowboys in the game. The Giants finished with an appalling 14 penalties for 160 yards. You don’t deserve to win a game with that many mistakes.
It felt as though every time the Giants were ready to capture momentum in this game, it was completely derailed by a debilitating penalty — the same simple issue leaks into every major problem that the Giants have. A lack of execution has been a massive problem for this team under Brian Daboll, and today may be the worst example of it.
Brian Burns and the pass rush shine, again
It’s going to get awfully redundant when I bring this up every single week, but we’re going to do it anyway. The Giants’ pass rush unit is already operating at peak dominance, and it’s only Week 2.
Brian Burns was flying all over the field, registering sacks, pressures, and tackles against the run. He finished the game with three tackles, one sack, one QB hit, and two tackles for loss.
To add to the performance by the talented group, it was visible that as Burns made plays, his teammates, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, were right behind him. The potential for what this defense can do is visible, and the unit could carry the Giants to close wins.
Sadly, all of this is a moot point with the horrendous performance by the secondary because they seem to find ways to make egregious mistakes following a big play.
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