New York Giants Notebook | Forgotten Points, Ugly Records and More
Bill Parcells once coined the phrase, "You are what your record says you are."
By that logic, the Giants and first-year head coach Joe Judge's 0-5 record says that they are a team of missed opportunities and poor execution.
However, even amid a winless season and a place near the basement of the NFL, Judge is still looking beyond the record.
According to Judge, the record doesn't indicate the progress that the team is making despite its constant faults late in games this season, and that progress holds weight for Judge's own personal judgment of his team going into Week 6.
"Well, that's all that really matters, to be honest with you, the progress that we're making right now," Judge said.
"The record will come in time. Obviously, we're not happy about losses, that's not what we do here, but I've seen a lot of progress on all fronts and all units. We have to keep making consistent progress to keep being a better team as the year goes."
Still, Judge's record speaks volumes about his team's problems at the moment, particularly the recurring untimely mistakes that have haunted his team since Week 1.
Forgotten Points
The Giants had two touchdowns get taken back due to penalty on Sunday, and either one of them would have made the difference in a three-point defeat.
The Giants seemingly executed a fake field goal pass from punter/placeholder Riley Dixon to tight end Evan Engram toward the end of the first half, and one that would have given them a seven-point lead.
However, offensive tackle Cameron Fleming was called for an illegal shift, which wiped out the play, and the Giants had to settle for a field goal.
"I was mad at our execution that took points off the board," Judge said. "That was it, point-blank. You prepare for something like that, you call it at a certain time, it came up, you want to see it work. We've got to clean that up."
Then in the third quarter, a touchdown pass from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Darius Slayton was wiped out due to an illegal contact penalty by wide receiver Damion Ratley and nearly cost the Giants a chance at any points if not for a 12-men-on-the-field penalty by Dallas that put the Giants back in field goal range.
The two touchdowns could have been crucial game-deciding turning points for the Giants, but thanks to the mistakes, they were simply a matter of what could have been.
"It's football man. Calls go how they go," said defensive back Logan Ryan. "If there's a penalty on it, somebody probably did something wrong. It hurts when there are 14 points off the board, but it's football. Not every call goes your way. Not every ball bounces your way."
What's Next for Daniel Jones?
Quarterback Daniel Jones had, by many measurables, his best game of the season as a passer.
That is not necessarily a good thing. Considering his best passing performance to this point still does not include a passing touchdown, nor was it a turnover-free performance, as Jones committed a costly fumble that was returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Overall, Jones finished the game completing 20 of 33 passes for 222 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
But the stat line doesn't reflect Jones' most significant moment of the game when he had a chance to lead a game-winning field-goal drive in the final minutes but was stalled inside of Giants territory.
"We were extremely confident there with the ball," Jones said. "With the opportunity to go down the field and win the game, and it felt like we were able to move the ball all game and were able to execute on offense. So, we were confident, I was confident, and we got to do a better job."
Jones has been the subject of harsh criticism for weeks and blew an opportunity to turn that narrative around on Sunday.
However, Jones still owns the respect of his teammates.
"I believe that every ball that comes off his hands is going to be on the money," Slayton said. "If you watch him play and watch the balls, it normally is. It doesn't affect my view of him - what other people have to say about him.
"At the end of the day, I work with him every day. I play with him in every game. I know what he brings to the table. Nothing that anybody can say from the outside is going to affect my belief or view of him."
Defensive Breakdown
The Giants defense had its worst outing of the season on Sunday, giving up 37 points and 402 total yards to Dallas' top-ranked offense.
But like Jones' meddling performance, the real downfall of the Giants' defense didn't show up on the stat sheet, but in the late-game situation in which it faltered and ultimately blew a chance at a victory.
After the Giants took a 34-31 lead late in the fourth quarter, the defense had the chance to close out the game with a stop, but let Cowboys backup quarterback Andy Dalton lead a game-tying field-goal drive.
Then after the Giants offense failed to answer, the defense couldn't preserve a 34-34 tie with less than a minute left, allowing Dalton to lead an explosive game-winning field-goal drive in which the Giants didn't seem to have any answers.
"I think every single one of us is a competitor and all of us want to go make those plays and do what we need to do to not have that situation come down to what it came down to today," said linebacker and defensive captain Blake Martinez.
"But at the end of the day, we have full confidence in ourselves to make plays, and we just didn't make them coming down the stretch."
The Giants were without their two starting edge rushers for most of the game, as Oshane Ximines was placed on IR earlier in the week while Lorenzo Carter was carted off the field with a potentially season-ending Achilles injury.
With serious injuries at critical positions, Martinez is taking it upon himself to help lead the Giants past those losses with preparation and effort.
"I think that's my role as the play-caller and leader of the defense, and the captain," Martinez said. "To be that guy, calm, cool and collected, no matter what situation we're put into, no matter what guys are out there.
"Everyone is locked in, working hard every single week, and I think that's the toughest part, that right now, we're putting the work in, and we just need to execute when we're out there."
