Double trouble
Giants take 2 body blows from Cowboys, a loss and injury
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants took it on the chin against the Dallas Cowboys.
Dropping a hard-fought 23-16 decision to the rival Cowboys on Monday night to lose for the first time under new coach Brian Daboll hurt. What was worse came at the end of the game.
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard, the Giants’ longest-tenured player and one of the key leaders on a young team, sustained torn ACL on New York’s final offensive play.
Shepard, 29, was jogging down the right hashmark when he suddenly fell to the artificial turf at MetLife Stadium and grabbed his knee with both hands. He was taken off the field on a cart.
This is the second major injury for the 29-year-old, who is the longest-tenured player on the Giants. He tore an Achilles tendon late last season and managed to rehabilitate it and play on opening day, catching a 65-yard touchdown pass.
Daboll did not say Shepard will miss the rest of the season, but it generally takes a year to recover from an ACL injury. With his injury history and age, Shepard may have played his final NFL game.
Daboll said the Giants (2-1) will try to use the players on the roster to replace Shepard. Receivers Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring) both were inactive on Monday, but the coach said they are making progress with their injuries.
Shepard led the Giants with five catches for 49 yards on Monday night. He had 13 catches for a teamhigh 154 yards and a TD in three games.
“It was heartbreaking,” offensive tackle Andrew Thomas said. “Shep worked really hard to get back and to see him go through something like that again, I feel for the guy. He loves the game, he works hard.”
Daboll had no immediate information on the extent of the injury but he was clearly worried about the 29-year-old who led the Giants (2-1) with five catches for 49 yards.
New York quarterback Daniel Jones, who was sacked five times by the Cowboys and was on the run most of the game eluding pass rushers, said seeing Shepard go down on a play where there was seemingly no contact was rough.
“Real tough to see that, for sure,” said Jones, who ran for 79 yards and threw for 196. “A guy who works so hard, he’s battling back from an injury last year. I feel for him as a teammate, as a close friend and yeah, that’s tough to see.”
Shepard was not made available to reporters after the game.
Saquon Barkley, whose 36-yard touchdown run gave the Giants a 13-6 lead in the third quarter, said he will go home, say a prayer for
Shepard and hope for the best.
“Just the type of guy Shep is, he is a character, especially the energy he brings to the team,” Barkley said. “He’s one of my best friends, if not my best friend. So to see him go down, you know, we all got his back.”
Daboll called the injury a shame.
“Guys work their butts off to get back from injuries, and if this is something that he’s out for the whole season — which we’ll probably know tomorrow morning or maybe even tonight — you hurt for those guys because they put everything into it,” he said.
As for the loss, Daboll said his approach will be the same. It’s one game and the team needs to correct its mistakes and get ready to play the Bears on Sunday.
“You can’t let these things linger just like you can’t let a win linger,” he said. “You have to move on and get ready on the next opponent. To ride the rollercoaster, there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs throughout the league, throughout the year for any team.”