It was the kind of gut-wrenching defeat that would ruin the offseason for most coaches, players and fans, a one-point heartbreaker to the division-rival Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in the Giants’ final game of the season.
Yet, after it was over, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur declared: “We’re on the right path,” sounding as if his team had won its last three games of the season instead of losing all three.
And so began a concerted effort to put a positive spin on their 36-35 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday and their 5-11 record. The Giants talked up how their young team had stuck together, fought hard and learned to battle through adversity.
“We’ve got a heck of a lot to build on,” Shurmur said.
The truth is, the only thing the Giants have to build on is running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 109 yards Sunday and became just the third rookie running back in NFL history to account for 2,000 yards from scrimmage in a season, joining Eric Dickerson (1983) and Edgerrin James (1999).
Barkley’s Superman feats against the Cowboys included a 68-yard run and an Air Jordan leap from the 4-yard line to stretch the ball into the end zone and give the Giants a 35-28 lead with 3:21 remaining.
“I was just trying to get into the end zone by any means necessary,” Barkley said. “Thankfully, I got the ball over.”
But here’s the thing that sums up the Giants’ frustrating season and makes you question whether they’re really “on the right path.” Needing a field goal from Pro Bowl kicker Aldrick Rosas to win, the Giants got the ball on their own 48 thanks to a 34-yard kickoff return by Cody Latimer. Needing roughly 20 yards with 1:05 remaining, Eli Manning threw incomplete passes toward Bennie Fowler III, Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard and Latimer. Barkley never touched the ball.
Shurmur shrugged it off, saying Barkley “was in the progression” of the pass plays called.
That’s not good enough, and the Giants haven’t been good enough this year to raise much optimism for next season. The defense that couldn’t contain the Cowboys when it counted most should undergo an overhaul. The right side of the offensive line needs to be rebuilt, and the Giants need to learn how to finish games and not just talk about it.“There’s no quit on this team,” Barkley said. “If we can keep that and figure out how to execute and finish games, I think we’ll be a way better team next year.”
One method of improvement would be to make sure Barkley gets the ball in the final 65 seconds with the game on line.
All week, Shurmur had talked about how important it was to win the final game and carry momentum into the offseason. Instead, they lost to a visiting team that really had nothing to play for.
The Cowboys (10-6) clinched the NFC East and the fourth seed in the playoffs last week and didn’t bother to suit up NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott on Sunday. It didn’t matter. Dak Prescott threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns, with three of them snared by tight end Blake Jarwin. The Giants blew just enough coverages and missed just enough tackles to lose again.
“It’s not about how many punches you throw, it’s about how many you take and keep moving,” Shurmur said, doing his best Rocky Balboa imitation.
Next season will come soon enough, but the Giants shouldn’t sugarcoat how far they need to go to be taken seriously. Two more wins than last year’s 3-13 embarrassment isn’t much of an improvement, and the Giants have a long way to go to be good, regardless of whether Manning remains the quarterback.
Sunday’s game was simply a microcosm of the 2018 season: Manning wasn’t good enough when it counted; the defense wasn’t good enough when it counted; and Barkley, despite his record-setting day, wasn’t given a chance to save the Giants. That’s not the right path.