New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) on the sideline in the second half. The Giants fall to the Cowboys, 23-16, at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. — Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Takeaways from the Cowboys' 23-16 Win Over the Giants

We're starting to learn more about what this New York Giants team is, and it has a long way to go.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

At the end of training camp, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen cautioned people that it would take about four weeks before we knew what kind of team the Giants were.

Well, after three weeks of play and a 2-1 record that could have easily been 1-2 or even 0-3, which includes a 23-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, we have a few trends starting to develop.

First, some positive developments. Saquon Barkley is Saquon Barkley again. Barkley, who ran for over 100 yards in the regular season opener, finished with 81 rushing yards on 14 carries against the Cowboys, including a spectacular 36-yard touchdown rush for the Giants' only touchdown of the game. He added four receptions (on four pass targets for 45 yards, totaling 126 all-purpose yards.

Despite his numbers--20 of 37 for 196 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception (57.9 rating)--Quarterback Daniel Jones was solid. Jones, who was tasked with making quick decisions to get the ball out of his hand quickly, made several smart plays to move the chains and finished just behind Barkley in the rushing yardage department with 79 yards on nine carries.

But one thing Jones couldn't overcome--and now we get into the negative-- was the porous performance of his offensive line. Jones was sacked five times and hit 12 in total, three of the sacks posted by Demarcus Lawrence, who gave rookie right tackle Evan Neal his official "welcome to the NFL" schooling.

Jones also couldn't overcome two very big dropped balls by his receivers that came on second and third down and were dropped by Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay, respectively.

And speaking of his receivers, it most certainly didn't help that except for tight end Daniel Bellinger (5.62 yards), none of Golladay, Shepard, or David Sills managed to exceed the NFL average separation yardage (2.91 yards) this week to give the quarterback more of a window.

The worst of the offenders? Golladay (1.74 yards), who last week told reporters he "should be playing, regardless."

Jones, as he always does, didn't point any fingers. "They’re a good defense, you got to give credit to them. They played hard but yeah, I think there’s things we can all do better with that and that starts with me and finding space to step up, finding space to move around the pocket and make some plays. I’ll study that and we all will. Credit to them, they’re a good front, they’re a good defense."

In the final analysis, the Giants proved they still have a long way to go before becoming a legitimate contender.

Some other thoughts...

1. For the third time this season, the Giants were outscored in the game's first 30 minutes. This week it was only 6-3, but through three weeks, they've been outscored 25-9, as kicker GRaham Gano is already the team leading scorer with 35 points.

"Yeah, I don’t think there is anything in particular," Jones said when asked about the slow starts. "I don’t think there is one thing, I think it’s overall execution and finding ways to get in the endzone early in the game. We’ll look at that, I think that’s something we got to work on and improve."

Field goals just won't cut it, nor will these slow starts. Although the Giants did try a more up-tempo offense this week, the problems by the offensive line combined with the issues by the receivers were too much to overcome.

2. The Giants pass rush was quiet this week, as in zero sacks and only two quarterback hits, which was surprising, especially since defensive coordinator Wink Martindale had both Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the field together for the first time this season.

Thibodeaux had one tackle this week and, on a few occasions, found himself getting caught up in the wash. Ojualri had an assisted tackle, but with a more favorable matchup, he drew two holding penalties and a false start that at least helped the team.

Worth noting is that both players were on pitch counts, after missing weeks with their respective injuries. Give these two youngsters a little bit more time and the pass rush will come.

3. The Giants' three tackle leaders were all members of the defensive secondary: Julian Love had 14, Adoree' Jackson had seven, and Xavier McKinney had six. When a team's leading tacklers hail from the defensive secondary, that's usually not a good day at the office for the defense. What's also not a good sign is that other than a pass breakup by McKinney, none of the tackles were memorable or noteworthy.

4. Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams missed his first career start due to injury. If by now you don't have an appreciation for Williams and the job he does, especially against the run, look no further than the fact that the last two opponents the Giants have faced have managed runs of 45+ yards right through the spot Williams would have otherwise occupied on the defensive line.

5. The Cowboys and Giants finished with eight penalties a piece, but the Cowboys racked up 70 yards of penalties to the Giant's 57. Dallas had far more discipline-related penalties this week, but in the end, they overcame them.

6. Despite being able to move the ball, the Giants didn't get into the red zone this week. The last time they couldn't get into the red zone was last year against the Chicago Bears in Week 17, a game in which they lost 29-3, and the bottom officially fell out for the team.