BIG BLUE BATTERED
Exhausted Giants run over by 'Boys as offense can't stay on field
ARLINGTON, Texas — Sure, it seemed like the Giants defense was on the field for not one game, but two in Sunday night’s dreadful 19-3 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
It felt like the Giants defense was on the field for a 1 p.m. Sunday start and was still on the field well into Sunday night.
Sure, the Giants offense, playing without star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., looked like what we expect the Jets offense to look like this season (which is to say punchless and inept at times).
In the first half, the Giants offense produced two first downs to 16 for Dallas, 48 total yards to 265 for Dallas and did not convert a single third down. As a result, the Giants defense was on the field for 47 Dallas offensive plays in the first 30 minutes.
Sure, the Giants defense, which was bent in 20 different directions, did not break, allowing only one Dallas touchdown on a night when it felt like the Cowboys offense had the ball for hours.
It seemed like the Giants defense never had a chance. Except it did. If the defense played up to its heightened preseason reputation, maybe the Giants could have walked out of Texas having stole one Sunday night.
So, no excuses. And, to their credit, the Giants defensive players offered none inside their quiet postgame locker room.
“There’s no moral victories here,’’ linebacker Devon Kennard said. “We take pride in shutting people down and we let them score too many points. If they can’t score they can’t win.’’
When someone pointed out the lopsided time of possession in the game (34:14 for Dallas to 25:36 for the Giants), cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie wanted no part of it.
“At some point you have to suck it up,’’ Rodgers-Cromartie said. “You just have to find a way to get off the field. We didn’t get off the field enough.’’
This was a night when the defense needed to save the offense, and that didn’t happen.
“When we find our offense struggling or trying to figure it out, then we’ve got to play a little bit tighter, make sure we get off the field quicker to get the offense more possessions to give them momentum,’’ linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “If we gave them the ball one more time then maybe they score and it changes momentum into our favor. We allowed [the Cowboys] to do what they wanted to do, and that dictated the game for them. We were on our heels for most of the game.’’
The only Giants defender who was not on his heels was secondyear middle linebacker B.J. Goodson, who recorded 18 tackles (14 solo) in his first NFL start.
“How many tackles did he have?’’ Kennard asked. “I didn’t know it was that many, but I saw him in on a lot of plays. It’s impressive, but I’m not all that surprised, because he’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in tackling well.’’
Casillas called Goodson “a grinder,’’ adding, “He controls our defense. He’s dying go get down there and stick his face in it.’’ He did that all night Sunday. “Honestly, that’s not even what’s on my mind now,’’ Goodson said when he was told how many tackles he had. “It doesn’t matter.’’
For years, the Giants have been looking for a linebacker who stands out and raises the level of those around him — the way so many at the position did on their championship defenses of the past.
“The linebacker position ... it’s been in a state of flux for a little while,’’ former Giants coach Bill Parcells told The Post recently while addressing the Giants defense. “I’ve been looking for an outstanding linebacker there since Jessie Armstead. I think they’ve got a couple young prospects now that may come along and do something.’’
Goodson is one of those prospects to which Parcells referred.
It’s unfair to expect the secondyear linebacker to live up to the likes of Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks. But the hopes and expectations for the Giants 2016 fourth-round draft pick are lofty.
Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said he spoke to Goodson during the week leading up to the Dallas game and told him he “looks like he was born for the position.’’
“He takes ownership of the defense, and I’m excited to watch him play,’’ McAdoo said.
So, too, are the legions of Giants fans who, for years, had become so accustomed to their team cornering the market on the game’s best linebackers.