Brian Daboll’s previously resilient Giants wilt in 4th quarter vs. Cowboys, spoiling unbeaten start

Brian Daboll’s Giants dug themselves a hole once again Monday night, setting up a challenge — their biggest one yet — that demanded another late-game surge.

Could they answer? Would Daboll and Co. have a little more magic to show off, while sustaining this improbable undefeated start?

Not this time. Not on this big-stage night.

The Giants fell 23-16 to the Cowboys, missing a legit opportunity — with Dallas starting quarterback Cooper Rush — for a 3-0 start, especially with a winnable home game against the Bears coming next week.

So Daboll’s perfect start as a rookie head coach ended here, with yet another Giants loss to Dallas.

The Giants had one final shot when 1:45 remained in the game, down 23-16, starting a drive on their own 9-yard line with no timeouts. But on the drive’s fourth play, Daniel Jones threw an interception, snuffing out the Giants’ chances. And on that play, one of the Giants’ top wide receivers, Sterling Shepard, suffered an apparent knee injury. He was carted off.

For the Giants, it was a terrible finish to a terrible fourth quarter.

The Cowboys took a 23-13 lead on a field goal with 5:58 left, after the Giants’ offense looked limp (three plays, minus-3 yards, punt) on the previous drive, unable to immediately answer a Cowboys touchdown that gave them a 20-13 advantage. That was a huge, three-possession swing.

And this time, the Giants were unable to dig out.

Too little offensive production (just one touchdown for the second straight week). Too little protection (five sacks allowed). And just not enough of that unexpected, late-game magic that thrilled the Giants’ fed-up fans the past two games.

In the first two weeks, this Giants season — which was supposed to be a painful rebuilding year — centered on Daboll’s resilient team answering challenges. While starting 2-0, the Giants scored last, in the fourth quarter, to win twice — overcoming a seven-point deficit, then breaking a tie.

But Monday’s challenge was far more daunting, and the Giants had to meet it while essentially down four starters — no small hurdle, even with Rush playing for the injured Dak Prescott.

Ultimately, they couldn’t.

The Cowboys went up 20-13 with 8:30 left in the game, on CeeDee Lamb’s insane, one-handed, 1-yard touchdown catch, as he somehow got both feet inbounds.

The Giants’ offense looked lackluster until its second possession of the third quarter — a six-play, 77-yard touchdown drive capped by Saquon Barkley’s exhilarating 36-yard run, which gave the Giants their first lead, 13-6. But Dallas evened the score on the next drive, for a 13-all game entering the fourth quarter.

The Giants won mostly with defense in the first two games, 21-20 at the Titans and 19-16 over the Panthers. Yet on Monday, the Cowboys tore up Wink Martindale’s defense in the first half, after which Dallas led 6-3. The Cowboys gained 207 in yards in the half, the Giants 155.

Even more of an unacceptable gut punch for Martindale: The Cowboys ran for 126 yards in the first half on just 14 carries.

Things could’ve been a lot worse for the Giants, but late in the second quarter, Lamb had a brutal drop on deep ball that might’ve resulted in a 52-yard touchdown and 13-3 lead.

Still, for a third straight game to open this season, the Giants trailed in the third quarter.

Monday night had a big-game vibe: National TV stage, “white-out” at packed MetLife Stadium, Leonard Marshall and six other Giants legends entering the Ring of Honor, Lawrence Taylor and Michael Strahan on hand, and even some absurd theater, like Dez Bryant in a cowboy hat and rapper Lil Uzi Vert — from Philadelphia, by the way — greeting Kayvon Thibodeaux pregame.

All for a Giants showdown with a hated rival that had dominated them for the past decade. Since the Giants last won the Super Bowl, after the 2011 season, they were 5-15 against the Cowboys.

The Giants, 2.5-point underdogs, played Monday without four starters (or key contributors): cornerback Aaron Robinson, defensive lineman Leonard Williams, and wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson. But they did get their starting outside linebackers, Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, back from injuries.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys were without not only Prescott, but also two key weapons for Rush — receiver Michael Gallup and tight end Dalton Schultz. Still, they had one of their most valuable and disruptive players, edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Daboll was attempting to accomplish a couple rare feats Monday night. The Giants hadn’t started 3-0 since 2009, when they opened 5-0. And just one Giants coach had ever started 3-0 in his first season on the job — Dan Reeves in 1993. (A 4-0 start for a new Giants coach has never happened.)

Plus, entering Monday, the NFL had just three undefeated teams left — the 3-0 Dolphins, 3-0 Eagles, and 2-0 Giants. This despite the Giants’ offense doing so little in Week 2 — one touchdown, four field goals, and 265 yards. So you could sort of understand why Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay griped about his playing time (two snaps against Carolina) last week.

Prescott’s absence Monday gave Daboll a legit chance at a historic 3-0 start, though the Dallas pass rush — second in Pro Football Focus’ ratings, largely due to Parsons — figured to be major challenge for the Giants’ revamped offensive line, which returned just one starter from last season.

And it was, as Jones found himself running for safety most of the night. He rarely found it.

So he and his offensive line and their rookie head coach will leave MetLife Stadium in the wee hours of Tuesday seeking answers, while trying to rediscover their resilience.

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.

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