New QB, same result: Giants lose to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Giants discovered a new layer of despair Thursday in Texas, and if their gruesome 27-20 loss to a wholly unremarkable Cowboys team is any indication, they’ll have five more miserable weeks plunging into the depths of their own inadequacy.

Part of a Thanksgiving Day slate that generally is one of the most-watched NFL events of the regular season, the Giants proved to a large national audience that the problem isn’t just the quarterback . . . or the play-calling . . . or the defense.

It’s everything.

And, because things can apparently always get worse, they also lost Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence to an elbow injury in the third quarter, an injury significant enough that he was ruled out shortly after.

With Drew Lock under center after Tommy DeVito was sidelined with a right forearm injury, the Giants (2-10) managed 247 yards of total offense en route to their seventh straight loss this season, eighth straight loss to Dallas (5-7) and eighth straight loss at AT&T Stadium. he only bright spot was barely that: a first-quarter touchdown granted them their first lead since Week 6, though even that lasted just 6:32. They committed 13 penalties for 98 yards.

The Giants did draw to within a touchdown with 2:12 left in the game on Lock’s eight-yard scoring run, but Cooper Rush’s third-down conversion on a three-yard pass to Brandin Cooks sealed it.

Lock was 21-for-32 for 178 yards and an interception, plus the rushing touchdown. His standout play came on the Giants’ first score: on third-and-6 from the Dallas 29, Lock was flushed from the pocket on a blitz, took off in the open field and nearly scored after a massive block from Darius Slayton at the goal line. Though it was originally ruled a touchdown, Lock kicked the pylon and fell out of bounds to put the ball at the 1. Tyrone Tracy Jr. punched it in on the next play to give the Giants the 7-3 lead with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

That, though, was before they gave up two scores in the span of 11 seconds.

A facemask penalty put Dallas at second-and-21 on their own 32 with 1:37 left in the first quarter, but Rico Dowell broke through the middle on a draw for a 22-yard run, the longest by a Cowboys running back this season. They made it as far as the Giants’ 15 before Rush’s pass fell incomplete to CeeDee Lamb, forcing the Cowboys to go for the 33-yard field goal to draw within 1. (Rush, also a backup, started in lieu of Dak Prescott, who went down with a hamstring injury in Week 9).

Despair wasn’t done with the Giants, though — not even close. At first-and-10 at his own 40, Lock attempted a screen pass to Devin Singletary, but DeMarvion Overshown beat him on the blitz, reached up to deflect the throw, caught his own deflection and took it all the way home for the pick-6 and the 13-7 Cowboys lead. Donovan Wilson then sacked Lock on the next possession to force a punt.

The Giants eventually got to 13-10 with 3:25 left in the half, paced by an acrobatic 22-yard punt return by Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who hurdled over Damone Clark in coverage to put them at the Dallas 29. Short gains from Singletary set up Graham Gano, who converted the 46-yard field goal. The Giants, though, squandered a major opportunity minutes later when, on third-and-15 at the Cowboys own 36, Mike McCarthy called a fullback draw with Hunter Luepke for a gain of just two, prompting hefty boos from the crowd and giving the Giants the ball back at the two-minute warning with three of their timeouts remaining. They did nothing with it, though, going three-and-out in just 14 seconds.

It continued to devolve. The Giants went three-and-out to kick off the second half, but looked to finally catch a break on the Cowboys subsequent drive, when Rush appeared to fumble near the goal line, a play that was ruled a touchback when Micah McFadden recovered the ball in the endzone. A replay, though, showed that Rush went down at the two-yard line prior to losing control of the football. The Cowboys retained possession and, on the next play, Rush hit Cooks with a scoring pass to give the Cowboys the 20-10 lead with 11:44 left in the third quarter.

The Cowboys scored again in the third, this time on a nine-play, 70-yard drive capped by Dowdle’s four-yard run off right guard. Gano hit a 47-yard field goal with 5:49 left in the game to get the Giants to within 27-13. With 2:18 left, Lock capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to make it a one-score game.