Brian Daboll’s Giants completely unprepared in embarrassing 40–0 Cowboys thrashing

Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll didn’t have the Giants ready to play Sunday night.

Their team didn’t belong on the field with the Dallas Cowboys in this pathetic 40-0 beat down to open the season at MetLife Stadium.

The offense and special teams, actually, didn’t belong on any football field. They were incapable of executing. They couldn’t block, catch or make sound decisions.

That’s why the fans booed the Giants into the locker room at halftime. That’s why they streamed for the exits with rain pouring down, eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, and Daniel Jones under assault for a total of seven sacks by a dominant Dallas pass rush.

That’s why the game finished with Dallas fans chanting “Let’s Go Cowboys!” as the defense eventually joined the offense and special teams units in folding. That’s why Cooper Rush replaced Dak Prescott at quarterback for the Cowboys and why Tyrod Taylor got snaps for the Giants late.

This wasn’t all that different from the Giants’ last game against a division rival, though. Remember?

The Philadelphia Eagles fired the Giants into the sun in last season’s NFC divisional playoff round, 38-7, in a game that was over before it started.

Daboll, despite last year’s Coach of the Year Award, now has a 1-6-1 record in the NFC East. That includes an astounding 0-6 record against the Cowboys and Eagles combined.

Schoen and Daboll impressively got the Giants back to the playoffs in a first year that exceeded expectations. But this offseason’s trades, spending, signings and draft picks all were designed to close the gap with their rivals and become a contender.

All of their decisions, from workload management to preseason playing time to daily schedule, were designed to get their team to Sunday night in the best position to win. But this result reflects that they must re-evaluate their process.

Because this was completely unacceptable.

A promising, run-heavy drive to open the game stalled in the red zone due to an Andrew Thomas false start and a bad John Michael Schmitz snap. Then the Giants were off to the races making constant mistakes to one-up their teammates’ previous blunders.

The Cowboys’ Juanyeh Thomas blocked Graham Gano’s ensuing field goal attempt, and Dallas’ Noah Igbinoghene returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

A Micah Parsons sack killed the Giants’ second drive quickly. The Dallas offense tacked on a field goal for a 9-0 lead. And then Saquon Barkley dropped a Jones pass due to a Trevon Diggs hit, and the Cowboys’ DaRon Bland returned the interception 22 yards for another TD and a 16-0 deficit.

Nothing was working on offense. The offensive line couldn’t block anyone. Dallas quickly caved in the line of scrimmage on every passing down snap. Play action was impossible.

The Cowboys added another field goal for a 19-0 lead.

And then Jones, who was jumpy and running for his life while under constant pressure, forced a throw to Darren Waller on the sideline that was picked off by Stephon Gilmore.

That allowed Tony Pollard to punch in the first of his two rushing TDs for a 26-0 halftime lead.

At that point in the game, Jones was 1-of-6 passing for zero yards with two interceptions and a 0.0 QB rating. Rookie wideout Jalin Hyatt capped off the first half with a drop on a deep crosser despite being wide open.

Pollard’s first TD didn’t just expand Dallas’ lead, either. It also crushed the spirit of a Giants defense that, to that point, had been competitive.

Sure enough, when the second half started, the Cowboys’ offense marched right down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by another Pollard TD. Bobby Okereke forced a fumble in the red zone, but Dallas recovered it.

And later, Cowboys running back KaVontae Turpin galloped into the end zone with minimal resistance from some of the Giants’ defenders. Then Isaiah Hodgins fumbled for good measure.

On top of all that, Daboll confusingly left Jones in the game late to take a beating from the Cowboys’ pass rush that continued to dominate even when the backups entered.

In fact, when Daboll replaced left tackle Andrew Thomas with Matt Peart, and Peart got hurt, Daboll put backup guard Josh Ezeudu at left tackle and still left Jones in until Taylor finally entered with 1:10 remaining.

Jones, the newly-minted franchise QB with the big contract, ended up taking several more hits for good measure in a meaningless quarter of an embarrassing game.

It all added up to a complete nightmare for Schoen and Daboll, for Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, and for a fan base that believed this year and this regime was going to be different.

But this blowout felt all too familiar in all the worst ways.