Only themselves to blame

Wasted opportunities keep 0-5 team winless

Joe Judge is going to get his first win as coach of the New York Giants, and it’s probably going to be sooner rather than later.

It’s almost a guarantee with four of the next five games against mediocre NFC East teams, starting Sunday at MetLife Stadium against Washington.

For now, the reality is Judge is batting .000. Five games, no wins as an NFL head coach.

In four of the games, the Giants had chances, including their best on Sunday when they blew a three-point, fourth-quarter lead and dropped a heartbreaking 37-34 decision to the division-leading Cowboys (2-3) in Texas.

The Giants have no one to blame but themselves. They made too many mistakes, which has been the common thread this season.

The errors seem to change every week. Good performance by the defense. Bad performance by the offense, or vice versa.

Penalties, blown assignments, turnovers. Round up the usual suspects.

It all contributes to being winless and seemingly out of the playoff hunt for what will be the fourth straight year.

On Monday, Judge said he was blunt talking to the team.

“To me, it’s about evidence on the tape, what we have to correct and what we’re doing well and what we can build on. I’m not a rainbow-and-sunshine type of guy. I’m also not a browbeat you and rub your nose in it type of guy either. This is what it is.

“Understand what we’re doing good that we can build on. Understand what we have to do, what we have to correct and clean it up. For me, that’s the best thing for guys to respond.”

What’s working

The offense finally produced. After being limited to six field goals the past two games, coordinator Jason Garrett came up with a plan that led to two touchdowns, a 2-point conversion on a pass to rookie tackle Andrew Thomas and four field goals from Graham Gano. Plus, linebacker Kyler Fackrell scored on an interception return. The 34 points were 13 fewer than what the team scored in its first four games combined.

What needs help

Quarterback Daniel Jones has eight turnovers in five games.

Ashley Landis / Associated Press First-year head coach Joe Judge says the 0-5 Giants need to understand what mistakes they have to correct and what they do well and can try to build on. They play four of their next five games against mediocre NFC East division teams.