The New York Giants fell to the Dallas Cowboys, 23-16, on Monday night at MetLife Stadium, their first loss of the season and first under new head coach Brian Daboll.
Here are some things we learned in Week 3.
Offensive line still needs a lot of work
The offensive line is still a mess. They failed miserably against the Dallas defensive front on Monday night, getting overrun to the point where there were fears for quarterback Daniel Jones’ safety.
Jones was pressured a career-high 24 times, hit a total of 12 times, five for sacks. Rookie tackle Evan Neal had a rough night, giving up three sacks but he was not alone in his misery. The whole line played poorly against the rush.
Still not ready for prime time
The loss was the Giants’ 11 consecutive in primetime. They last win was in San Francisco on Monday night, Nov. 12, 2018. They have lost seven in a row since and have dropped nine of their last 10 on Monday night.
Since the league began playing Monday night games in 1970, the Giants’ Monday night record is 25-46-1, including 9-14 at home and 3-9 vs. Dallas.
Big Cat leaves a big hole
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams (knee) sat out the game and many sloughed off the effect that might have on the defense (we didn’t).
Dallas ran the ball at will, racking up 176 yards, gaining 5.9 yards per attempt.
The absence was a first for Williams, who never missed a game in high school or college. Since entering the league as the Jets’ first-round draft choice in 2015, Williams has played in all 114 games with 106 starts. Williams was also tied with linebacker Tae Crowder for the Giants’ longest starting streak at 21 consecutive games.
Jones showed resiliency and toughness
Daniel Jones may have played his best game as a Giant. He was under pressure nearly every snap yet found ways to move the football. He directed drives of 11, 14 and 10 plays and used his athleticism and rushing ability to extend plays. He rushed for 79 yards on nine rushes.
Jones, who played all 72 offensive snaps, passed for 196 yards on 20-for-37 passing but had several passes dropped and saw several defensive pass interference penalties go uncalled on some others.
Barkley continues to shine
Running back Saquon Barkley led the Giants with 140 total yards form scrimmage — 81 rushing yards on 14 carries and 45 more on four receptions.
He ran 36 yards for the team’s only touchdown, his longest rushing TD since he scored on a 68-yarder vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 29, 2019.
Barkley is second in the NFL in rushing after three weeks with 317 yards behind Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (341), is averaging 6.0 yards per carry and leads the league in total yards from scrimmage with 408.
Barkley is on pace to to gain 2,312 yards from scrimmage over 17 games. Barkley led the league with 2,028 yards as a rookie in 2018 over a 16-game schedule.
