ARLINGTON, Texas — Nothing to see here.
Move along.
The Giants are not worth your time, not worth your energy and not worth your attention.
They took their hideous traveling road show into the heart of Texas and got smoked like a piece of brisket, except instead of a savory aroma all that came out of the Giants was the stench of lousy football.
A season that has spiraled out of control took another wrong turn and the time has come to declare that the Giants look like the worst team in the NFL this season.
They did nothing right and everything badly in Sunday’s moribund 49-17 loss to the Cowboys inside AT&T Stadium and overmatched, undrafted quarterback Tommy DeVito is only part of the sad tale this franchise is telling.
“It’s the NFL, we shouldn’t be getting beat like this, no matter what the situation is and we can’t allow ourselves to continue to make excuses,’’ Saquon Barkley said, adding that doubt and frustration is “gonna creep in. It’s gonna creep into everyone’s mind, it’s creeped into mine. That’s the daily fight.’’
The daily fight has gone frightfully bad for the Giants, who fell to 2-8 with their third consecutive loss, swept in terrible fashion in the two-game season series with the Cowboys.
Adding in the 40-0 rout in Week 1, the Cowboys outscored the Giants 89-17 in the two games. In some ways, the rematch was actually worse than the first game.
“No one wants to lose games, everyone is trying to figure out what to do to right the ship,’’ offensive lineman Justin Pugh said. “We got our asses kicked so there should be some pissed-off people. You get embarrassed, it’s not a good feeling.’’
In the past two weeks, the Giants have been outscored 79-23.
“Losing like that, getting embarrassed week after week but you got to be a man about it,’’ Barkley said.
“Yeah, it’s tough, it’s frustrating,’’ linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “We’re all professionals so we own it.’’
Coach Brian Daboll offered nothing of substance, saying the lopsided two games with the Cowboys were “big losses’’ and that “it’s no fun to lose.’’
The bright side? If the season ended today, the Giants would own the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
There was a sideline confrontation between Darius Slayton and receivers coach Mike Groh, followed by Sterling Shepard trying to calm down Slayton.
There was Barkley looking upset with Daboll after an ill-fated fourth-and-2 run that went nowhere. Emotions are running hot and patience is wearing thin.
“It’s OK to be frustrated, it’s OK to be upset,’’ Barkley said, acknowledging that those displays are best kept in the locker room.
DeVito made his first NFL start, and the undrafted free agent from Cedar Grove, N.J., was overmatched in a dismal first half.
The Cowboys loaded up with a five-man line to deal with Barkley, daring the Giants to throw it.
Barkley gained a total of 1 yard on his first seven rushing attempts and it was no contest.
“I mean, what do you expect?’’ Barkley said. “That’s kind of what every team’s mindset is going to be. They came out and had a great game plan. You could tell from the first two snaps what kind of day it was gonna be.’’
This was the 12th consecutive victory over the Giants for Dak Prescott, who lost his first two starts as a rookie in 2016 to what is now his favorite NFC East punching bag.
Prescott threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns to four different targets.
Brandin Cooks (9-173) and CeeDee Lamb (11-151) made their fantasy football owners happy.
The Cowboys rolled to 640 total yards, the most allowed by the Giants since 1943.
The first half was one of the least-compelling and most-dispiriting performances you will ever see in an NFL game.
The Giants trailed 28-0 and were toyed with by the Cowboys.
The first downs were 20-1.
The total yards were 368-26.
The rushing yards were 129-11. The passing yards were 239-16.
The Giants were 0-for-6 on third-down conversions.
The Giants averaged 1.3 yards per play. DeVito in the first half was 4-for-9 for 24 yards and admitted “early on, it didn’t go so hot.’’
DeVito threw two touchdown passes after halftime and now has a team-leading three, one more than injured teammates Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor.
“It’s tough,’’ DeVito said. “You put a lot into the week. You put a lot into the preparation — practices, meetings. … Obviously, this is not the outcome we wanted. Something has got to change. We’ve just got to be better.”
There was no turning point, but there was this: An interception by Cor’Dale Flott on the last play of the first quarter gave DeVito and the Giants the ball on the Dallas 12-yard line.
No way they could not get some points, right? Wrong. On fourth down, Barkley was stopped for no gain and the Giants came up empty. Again. And again.
The season is gone.
“No one’s gonna save it but us,’’ Barkley said. “We got to figure it out.’’
