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Studs and duds from the New York Giants’ Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys

Vaseline September 27, 2024

The New York Giants entered Thursday night’s game having lost thirteen of their previous fourteen games against the Dallas Cowboys and nearly broke that streak. But ultimately, their misery continues in primetime and against the Cowboys.

Brian Daboll’s group played well between the 20s, but had no answers against the Cowboys’ redzone defense. They also played well defensively, but couldn’t come up with the key stop when they needed it.

The loss drops the Giants to 1-3 on the season and rests alone in the cellar of the NFC East.

Here’s a quick look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from Thursday’s loss:

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For the fourth week in a row, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers gave it his all. He took a hit midway through the game and tried to tough it out, but ultimately left after suffering a concussion late in the fourth quarter trying to make a game-saving catch. He finished the game with 12 receptions for 115 yards, effectively carrying the offense on his back.

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For the second straight week, cornerback Deonte Banks struggled against the opponent’s No. 1 team and was defeated for a key touchdown. Although wide receiver CeeDee Lamb moved all over the field, he made the most of his matchups with Banks. The Giants have a very real problem here.

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Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson had a big and costly fall in the fourth quarter, but he was virtually flawless up until that point. He racked up 11 receptions on 14 targets for 71 yards and several key first downs. Obviously, he is now WR2 behind rookie Malik Nabers.

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The Giants desperately needed a solid performance from their running backs on Thursday night, but they didn’t get one. Devin Singletary gained just 24 yards on 14 carries (1.7 ypc) and almost fumbled again. He had a nice 14-yard reception, but the Giants needed more from him.

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The box score won’t glow when you look at Kayvon Thibodeaux’s production outside of his one pocket, but he played well against both the run and the pass Thursday night. The argument could be made that he needed to do more because Dexter Lawrence was double- and triple-teamed on almost every snap, but the shortcomings come from the rest of the defensive line, not Thibodeaux. He finished the game with three tackles (two solo, one for loss), one QB hit and one sack, but again disrupted Dak Prescott repeatedly.

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As noted by Singletary, the Giants needed more from their back and rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. also came. shortage. He gained just two yards on four carries (0.5 ypc) and coughed up a special teams fumble that could have proven disastrous if not recovered by tight end Chris Manhertz. But like Singletary, he had one nice reception, which went for 19 yards.

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Quarterback Daniel Jones looked great against the Cowboys until he didn’t. The Good: DJ was safe with the football, didn’t really endanger it and his interception came on a Hail Mary to end the game. Otherwise he was efficient, decisive and above all goal-oriented. ‘Usually’ is the key word there. The bad: There are three or four passes on Thursday that everyone will be keying in on and Jones will wish he was back. Twice he missed Darius Slayton on potential big play/touchdown passes (one on a free play) and he under-thrown at least one other. He finished the game 29 of 40 for 281 yards and the insignificant interception. Giants receivers also dropped at least three passes, including the aforementioned Robinson on a key fourth down.