Big Blue get pushed around by bully ’Boys
The Giants and Cowboys had to be separated three times after the whistle Monday night.
Ironic because there is a gulf between them in the rivalry — and it continued to grow with a 37-18 comeback victory by the Cowboys to sweep the season series for the third straight year.
“Lets go Cowboys!” echoed through MetLife Stadium as the crowd thinned in the fourth quarter and “Defense!” chants could be heard when the Giants offense was on the field.
The Cowboys knocked Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones to the ground and then made sure to shove him down a little harder when he tried to get to his feet. In other words, the Cowboys bullied the Giants. It’s really nothing new, considering they have won six straight and 11 of 14 in the series.
For the Giants, the only solace might be that they have discovered a new enforcer in secondyear guard Will Hernandez, who stood up for Jones when he was the victim of unnecessary roughness from safety Xavier Woods.
“That’s just something that’s unacceptable,” Hernandez said. “You are never going to let your QB get hit, especially out of bounds like that. That’s not part of the game. Especially when you are talking about our QB. I don’t care who you are or what it is. If that happens, we take care of it and keep playing ball.”
Taunting extraordinaire DeMarcus Lawrence airplaned his way down the field, arms outstretched in celebration as his Cowboys defensive teammate returned a fumble for a touchdown.
“It bothered me,” center Jon Halapio said, “and it should bother all of us. I don’t enjoy [the chanting].”
Lawrence resisted taking a postgame shot at the Giants, but he laid the smack to Jones and receiver Golden Tate.
“I care very little to what they have to say,” Hernandez said. “Most of the [stuff ] they say I don’t even hear. It’s just all mumbling to me. I don’t even pay attention to it. I don’t care. All I care about is what you did on that play: Did you do anything that affected my team negatively?”
Those plays existed by the dozen, with the Giants allowing 429 yards of offense, including 172 on the ground. On the other side of the ball, the Giants allowed five sacks and committed three turnovers.
The pushing and shoving after the whistle brought intensity back to the rivalry that might have been missing because of all the changes to the Giants roster. Only four players on the active roster have beaten the Cowboys in a Giants uniform.
“It’s the whole Giants-Cowboys tradition,” Halapio said. “We’re all sick and tired of losing, so maybe that’s a factor in it, as well. Nobody likes to lose, whether it’s the game or one-onones. I could see it’s getting chippy because of that aspect.”
Jones sets himself up for late hits, however, with his refusal to slide and move on to the next play. It cost him one of his three turnovers, but how long until it gets one of his body guards ejected from a game? Or, worse, leads to his own injury?
“The hit on D.J. out of bounds, we were protecting our quarterback and backing him up,” tight end Evan Engram said. “That’s Will and the O-line trying to play nasty and physical. It happens sometimes. Got to be smart with it.”