The New York Giants offense was putrid in the first half of their 20-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
The New York Giants dropped to 0-2 following their 20-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and now find themselves in the cellar of the NFC East.
What made this loss so disheartening was that the offense was ineffective the entire first half. The Giants revamped offensive line — for the second week in a row — lost the battle at the line of scrimmage. They were either pushed back behind the line of scrimmage by the Cowboys front seven or fooled on stunts.
As a result, Eli Manning was sacked six times and one of those sacks caused a fumble that set up a Dallas field goal.
FUMBLE!!!@dallascowboys ball!
?: @snfonnbc #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/sjoV9FEerI
— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2018
When Manning wasn’t being sacked he only had time to dink and dunk the ball to Saquon Barkley who caught 14 passes for 80 yards. According to Elias, his 14 receptions tied a rookie record.
Saquon Barkley tied the single game record for receptions by a rookie with 14, according to Elias. He now has 16 catches in two games. He's on pace for 128 receptions.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 17, 2018
Barkley led the team in receptions and receiving yards. He only gained 28 yards on the ground on 11 carries, making the Giants a one-dimensional offense and easy to defend.
While the Giants offense was stagnant, the Cowboys took command of the game on the opening drive of the game.
The Cowboys came out the gate strong offensively, scoring on their third play from scrimmage of the game on a 64-yard pass from Dak Prescott to Tavon Austin to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead.
They would score again on their next drive on a Brett Maher 37-yard field goal to put them up 10-0. Based on how the Giants offense has looked thus far in the season, you knew it would be difficult to overcome a two-score deficit.
The Giants didn’t cross midfield until their second possession of the second half on a Manning 37-yard completion to Cody Latimer that set up Aldrick Rosas 28 yards out. He cut the Giants deficit to 13-3.
That score remained that way until Ezekiel Elliott’s six-yard touchdown run with 5:45 remaining in the 4th quarter to put them up 20-3.
Zeke plunges into the end zone for a 17-point @dallascowboys lead. #NYGvsDAL #SNF pic.twitter.com/RlSRtV3DcG
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 17, 2018
At that point, the deficit seemed insurmountable, but it was at that point the Giants offense came to life.
Following Elliott’s touchdown that the Giants offense got in a rhythm, as they marched down the field 75 yards on 11 plays culminating in an Evan Engram 18-yard touchdown with 1:27 remaining in the game.
The Giants then kicked an onside kick that was recovered by Michael Thomas at the Giants 47-yard line. After driving down to the Cowboys 20 yard line Rosas kicked a 38-yard field goal with just 11 seconds remaining. They tried another onside kick but it went out of bounds and put an end to the Giants comeback.
Regardless of how the Giants fought back in the final minutes, it was too little too late, and it doesn’t erase the fact of how inefficient the offense was for the second week in a row.
For the fifth time in six seasons, the Giants have started the season 0-2 and now face a must-win game next Sunday against the Houston Texans.
This will be the first big test of head coach Pat Shurmur who is believed to be an offensive guru, but through eight quarters of football this season his offense has only scored two touchdowns.
To make matters worse, they’ll likely be without starting center Jon Halapio who was carted off the field in the third quarter with a right leg injury.
Shurmur will need to rally his troops and pick up a win next Sunday or the 2018 season will begin to feel eerily similar to the 2017 season.
