The New York Giants have been surprise contenders in the NFC East this season, but their playoff push has come to a screeching half lately. Faced with a chance to prove they meant business this season in their Week 12 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants faltered, and their once seemingly locked up playoff berth is now becoming much less certain.
The Giants held a 13-7 lead heading into halftime, but proceeded to watch the Cowboys score 21 unanswered points throughout the second half to take the victory. The NFC East now looks to be separated into two ties, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys at the top, and the Giants and Washington Commanders fighting for wild card spots at the bottom.
This was a winnable game for the Giants, and it was a tough blow to see them come up short in this one. Let's take a look at three players on the Giants who failed to show up for their team in this one, and played a big role in New York suffering a crushing loss against their division rival.
3. Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley was arguably the best running back in the league through the first half of the season, but he's cooled off recently, and if that continues, the Giants are in some real trouble. Barkley struggled to make much of an impact for the Giants in this game (11 CAR, 39 YDS, 1 TD, 4 REC, 13 YDS), marking the third time he has failed to surpass 65 total yards in the past four contests.
Barkley hasn't had much help lately, especially with the passing attack being dealt more and more injuries. Daniel Jones had an OK outing, but it's clear the offense revolves around Barkley. In this contest, he didn't make the impact necessary to lead New York to a win.
If Barkley continues to struggle like he has in recent outings, that makes the Giants extremely vulnerable. Barkley is the focal point in their offense, and right now, he's not delivering. Whether or not it's his fault is up for debate, but right now, Barkley has been missing in action for New York, and it will be interesting to see whether or not he can turn things around over the next few games.
2. Darnay Holmes
The Giants secondary is in very rough shape, as their top two corners Adoree' Jackson and Fabian Moreau were inactive for this game. And in the second half, it finally caught up to them, with Darnay Holmes, who is realistically the Giants sixth or seventh string cornerback, getting absolutely torched by CeeDee Lamb in this game.
With Cordale Flott also suffering a concussion in this game, that set Lamb up for a very favorable matchup down the stretch that he eventually won badly. Lamb finished the day with six catches for 106 yards, with much of his work coming against Holmes in the second half. Things could have looked even worse for Holmes, as Lamb had a touchdown taken away from him that probably should have stood.
Holmes was playing well over his head in this one, and it showed throughout the game. It's partially on the Giants for failing to figure out how to slow him down, but it's clear Holmes didn't do enough to lock up Lamb. Lamb helped jumpstart the Cowboys offense in the second half, and he was able to do so because Holmes simply could not cover him.
1. The Giants offensive line
Ultimately the most guilty party in this game was the Giants offensive line. The Cowboys have a strong defensive front, and it was always going to be a challenge for New York's offensive line to completely control the action in this one, but they were unable to do much of anything in this one, and they allowed the Cowboys defense to dominate the offense throughout the second half.
In the passing game, Jones was under pressure all day long, but he still managed to put together a decent outing. He was sacked three times, but he probably deserved to be dropped more, as Dallas had seven quarterback hits on him in this one. And as previously mentioned, Barkley had no room to maneuver in this contest, as the offensive line struggled to open holes for him all day long.
The Cowboys won this game in the trenches on defense, making the Giants offensive line the most guilty party in this loss. As New York's offense continues to cool off, the offensive line is going to have to do a better job of helping out their playmakers in future contests. They weren't at their best against Dallas, and it came back to bite them in a big way in their Week 12 loss.
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