Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants: Full Report Card Grades for New York
For the second year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys swept the New York Giants, stealing the rivalry's latest installment, 38-21, on Sunday night.
The Giants started in control of this game, only to blow two separate, second-half leads. Who's most to thank for New York's early leap into the lead, and who's most to blame for the team's late collapse?
To see how each positional unit graded out in the Giants' Week 12 loss to the Cowboys, click through the slideshow ahead.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Eli Manning's grade might have been much worse if the game ended after his third-quarter interception. Although it was Manning's lone pick on the night, it was an awful pass that deflected off the wide-open hands of Preston Parker. The Giants were at Dallas' 18-yard line, and Parker could have walked into the end zone untouched had the pass been on target.
But, later in the fourth quarter, Manning put the Giants ahead on a wonderfully executed play-action rollout pass to Adrien Robinson for a one-yard touchdown. That touchdown pass—the 250th of Manning's career—put the Giants up 28-24 with 3:06 remaining.
Manning finished with a good rating (112.3), racked up a ton of yardage (338), threw efficiently (29-of-40, 72.5), scored his touchdowns (three) and even found himself on the throwing end of what's sure to be the NFL's 2014 Catch Of The Year (we'll get more into that on the "Wide Receiver/Tight End" slide).
Still, it was a bit of a sloppy outing for Manning. Several times, he was lucky not to pay for careless or questionable decisions. He learned the hard way that precision matters; and, also, he can't just chuck it in the vicinity of any receiver not named Odell Beckham Jr. and expect said receiver to make the catch.
The oft-rushed Manning would have enjoyed a much cleaner outing had he a more consistent pocket throughout the evening.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
The Giants' running backs looked like they wanted a victory on Sunday night. Rashad Jennings was a huge part of the offense in his second week back, carrying the ball 19 times for the hardest-fought 52 yards I've ever witnessed. Averaging only 2.7 yards per carry, Jennings was often shedding Cowboys in the backfield, searching for running lanes that simply did not exist.
Jennings was also a tremendous part of the passing game. He was targeted 10 times—only Beckham (11) was thrown at more—and caught eight passes for 68 yards. New York's screen passes are much smoother when Jennings is in the game. On one, Jennings got loose for 27 yards.
The starter finished the game with 120 total yards.
In relief, Andre Williams was improved. The rookie carried the ball 10 times, highlighted by a long carry of 18 yards and a three-yard scoring slash before halftime. He was lucky to avoid a murky fumble in a mass of men on the play before that.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 10
The group gets an "A"—and, yes, it's just because of one play/player.
You know the one.
"Odelle Beckham Jr. broke the Internet with what has to be the NFL's catch of the year: http://t.co/9uBzCjETkf http://t.co/OQY3vRQYYb
— Mashable (@mashable) November 24, 2014"
We will one day forget the Giants' Week 12 heartbreaker versus the Cowboys. Someday, we'll forget most of the details from the Giants' 2014 meltdown season.
What we'll never forget is Beckham's second-quarter catch, a 43-yard reception that went beyond the realm of linguistic description.
Think historic Giants catches, and you'll likely recall David Tyree's "Helmet Catch" in Super Bowl XLII and Mario Manningham's sideline toe-tapper in Super Bowl XLVI. Some fans are lucky enough to remember Simms-to-Bavaro-to-McConkey in Super Bowl XXI and Mark Ingram's tackle-breaking dance in Super Bowl XXV.
I can say with confidence, however, that Beckham's catch was the best non-Super Bowl catch in New York Giants history.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Giants are set up for failure, fielding the offensive linemen they do. If I'm Eli Manning, I'm insulted with the talent entrusted with his protection.
Geoff Schwartz was an upgrade at right tackle over Justin Pugh, who is battered and sat out on Sunday. Schwartz was impressive in his regular-season Giants debut; he is a promising peg in the Giants' future O-line plans moving forward.
Next to him, John Jerry is about as useful a right guard as a sack of potatoes. J.D. Walton isn't much better at center.
On the left side, New York was OK to start with Will Beatty at tackle and veteran Adam Snyder in at guard. When they both were injured, however, and James Brewer and Weston Richburg came in to replace them, the Giants' hopes were pretty much dashed.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
How about that vintage strip-sack by Mathias Kiwanuka before halftime? The throwback play knocked the ball loose just before Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo could launch it downfield. Jason Pierre-Paul pounced on the ball, seizing possession before Dallas could cut into New York's lead any further.
That was about all we saw from the Giants' pass rush. The ends were mysteriously absent for most of the game, amassing a mere three QB hits on the evening. On his final two dropbacks of the game, Romo could have read the Iliad, followed by the Odyssey.
Pierre-Paul isn't going to win a big contract as a stellar run-defender. Although JPP made a couple of exceptional stops on Dallas' DeMarco Murray, the rest of the Giants' D-line did little to stop the NFL's top running back from gaining 121 yards on 24 carries.
The only player besides Kiwi to record a sack was rotational rusher Damontre Moore.
Grade: F
Linebackers
6 of 10
The linebackers had an average outing, failing to contain DeMarco Murray although they were grossly outmatched. Dallas' starting running back reached the second level with ease, averaging 5.0 yards per carry before New York's linebackers brought him to the ground.
Not surprisingly, Mark Herzlich led the unit in tackles with six (three solo); he is the team's most straightforward run defender. Neither Jameel McClain with five tackles (four solo) nor Devon Kennard with five tackles (two solo) were far behind.
Overall, the Giants' linebackers weathered Jacquian Williams' absence alright. Still, the unit could have used a single tackle for a loss or pass defense; the Big Blue 'backers recorded neither against the Cowboys.
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
New York's secondary wasn't the root of the Giants' problems on Sunday night, although the defensive backs found themselves featured in a few of the Cowboys' offensive highlights.
The first bad play resulted in a 45-yard score by Dallas' Cole Beasley. The nifty-footed Beasley shook completely free from slot cornerback Jayron Hosley's coverage, turning a short catch into a scoring scamper.
Another was Dez Bryant's 31-yard touchdown. A notable Giants-killer, Bryant somehow snuck behind New York's defense and beat Stevie Brown to the pylon. That play yielded the first of Dallas' go-ahead scores in the second half.
The final, game-winning strike to Bryant, a 13-yarder, was not the fault of the secondary. Although Bryant ended up with an impressive stat line (7 rec, 86 yds, 2 TD), New York's pathetic pass rush offered those in coverage no relief.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
Preston Parker gives the Giants a noticeable lift as a kick returner. Against the Cowboys, Parker averaged 24.8 yards per return and recorded a long return of 37 yards.
The punt returns weren't as successful. The Cowboys were conscious to punt away from Beckham, as the rookie sensation managed just one return for minus-one yard.
Josh Brown and Steve Weatherford had another nice day on kickoffs and punt, but the coverage teams allowed Dallas' Dwayne Harris to rack up 90 total return yards. Harris was particularly troublesome on punts, averaging 17.0 yards per return.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
During the NBC pregame show, former All-Pro defensive back Rodney Harrison said in his prediction the Giants "don't have enough good players" to win on Sunday night.
As simple as that statement was, it's totally true and completely explains New York's current struggle.
I mean the Giants had the Cowboys pinned, ripping them to shreds with Beckham throughout the first half. The coaching staff found something that actually worked and rode it to a 21-10 halftime lead. When the Cowboys took away Beckham in the second half, the Giants simply ran out of good players—just as Harrison predicted.
It's beginning to look like this team lacks the necessary talent for any coach to win; might this end up saving Tom Coughlin's job in New York?
Some coaching aspects showed improvement, such as the play-calling on the goal line. Coughlin also branched out to test a new O-line configuration. Since the staff showed some positive changes and had to deal with so many injuries on Sunday, the coaches just barely avoid a failing grade for blowing a two-score lead at the half.
Grade: D
Overall
10 of 10
Here are the Giants' final report card grades for Week 12:
| Player | Position |
| QB | B- |
| RB | B+ |
| WR/TE | A |
| OL | F |
| DL | F |
| LB | C |
| DB | D |
| ST | C |
| Coach | D |
*Statistics courtesy of NFL.com box score.
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.
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