New York Giants off to 0-2 start under new coach Pat Shurmur

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. » Different year. Different coach. Different general manager. Different players.

The problem for the New York Giants is the start is the same. They are losing and the concern is mounting two games into the season.

Coach Pat Shurmur tried to downplay it Monday, less than 24 hours after the Giants put in a dismal performance in a 20-13 debacle against the Cowboys (11) in Dallas.

The game was so bad, it brought up memories of last year’s 0-5 start and 3-13 record, something Giants fans never thought would happen this soon with all the changes general manager Dave Gettleman and Shurmur made.

Shurmur refused to take solace in the Giants’ very competitive performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season-opening 20-15 loss.

“Absolutely not,” Shurmur said. “We didn’t win the first game. We didn’t win the second game. I don’t know. That goes back into that, you know, thinking you did good when you didn’t win. We’ve got to do what we have to do, to do the things necessary to win the game, period. So we really don’t worry about all of that stuff.”

The Giants didn’t do much right Sunday night in a nationally televised game.

While the score was close, the result was never in doubt. The Cowboys led by a touchdown after less than two minutes, were up 10 at the half and 20-3 before the Giants scored twice in the final 1:27.

Eli Manning was sacked six times and knocked to the ground even more. Center Jon Halapio had his right lower leg and ankle broken in the second half. The offensive line was terrible and the defense had trouble dealing with Dak Prescott’s passing and running.

Fans are wondering if this is going to be a repeat of last season.

Manning believes the team is fighting hard, learning and improving. With some 30 new faces on the team, the two-time Super Bowl MVP says there will be a learning curve.

“We just have to keep grinding and keep preparing,” Manning said. “Don’t get down. You have to have the desire to get better. We all want that. We all have that. We just have to make the improvements that the coaches are giving us and that will give us a better opportunity to win the game.”

Manning isn’t worried about the locker room meltdown that occurred last year under then-coach Ben McAdoo, saying this roster is much different.

“We just have to come to work and have a great attitude that we are going to get better,” Manning said.