Wherever they were, there was a television on, and before the turkey and stuffing ever made it out of the oven, there on the big screen was Tony Romo for the second straight week leading the resurgent Cowboys on a last-second drive. Thus the Giants — now the second-place Giants — had plenty to chew on this Thanksgiving.
“I was pulling for Miami so hard, and they had it,’’ running back Brandon Jacobs said. “It slipped away.’’
Slipping away is a feeling that comes naturally to the Giants this time of year. The balance of power in the NFC East officially shifted when Romo guided the Cowboys to a comeback 20-19 victory over the Dolphins.
No matter how hard they tried, the Giants could not reach through the screen and block Dan Bailey’s game-winning field goal, a kick that shoved the Cowboys (7-4) one-half game ahead of the Giants (6-4).
“Maybe it was a quick blurb at breakfast, ‘Did you see the game yesterday? Man, Miami almost had ’em,’ ’’ defensive end Dave Tollefson said. “It was never ‘Oh, we’re behind the eight-ball now.’ That’s not the case at all. We control everything, which is where you want to be.’’
Yes, the Giants have control, although they certainly appear to be losing it. Momentum comes and goes in a season, and at the moment it’s nowhere in sight for a team riding a two-game losing streak and making yet another injury-induced lineup change for Monday night’s game at New Orleans. The Saints are 4-0 in the Superdome and have the potential to blow out anyone in their indoor playpen. After that, the undefeated Packers come to town, so it could be a two-game deficit in the division by the time the Giants head to Dallas for the first of two games against the Cowboys in the season’s final month.
This is a team that desperately needs something to go right. Instead, the Cowboys pulled off another rousing victory the same day the Giants’ starting left tackle, Will Beatty, was having surgery to repair a detached retina. The way things are deteriorating, you have to wonder if the Giants somehow all got to the dessert table too late to get that last piece of pecan pie.
“You guys make it seem like it’s so bleak,’’ said Kevin Boothe, who will move in as the starter at left guard as part of the domino effect of losing Beatty. “But we’re still in a very good position, we’re in for a fight and there’s no better place you’d rather be. The guys in this locker room know everything we want is in front of us. We’re not dead. As crazy as it sounds to some, we’re not dead.’’
The Giants have done a lousy job of playing from ahead while sitting atop the NFC East, and they are not exactly marshalling the troops for a final charge. Ahmad Bradshaw remains out. Michael Boley remains out. The performance of the offensive line in last week’s 17-10 loss to the Eagles was described as “pathetic’’ by coach Tom Coughlin — and that was before Beatty was hurt, forcing David Diehl to make his first start this season at left tackle on Monday.
There’s no malaise, but Jacobs said the Giants need to win to “get out of the dumps.’’ They got themselves into this mess, and it is highly conceivable they may never breathe the rarified air of first place again.
“We were in the driver’s seat for a minute, but it was still early in the season,’’ safety Deon Grant said. “We realize the true warriors and the true fighters come alive at this time in the season. We did it to ourselves. … We’re going to show if we’re true warriors or not and in my heart I feel we are. We don’t feel we’re out of nothing.’’
Grant was quick to state “we got to play them boys two times,’’ but the Giants must make sure those two games against the Cowboys are for more than wild-card table scraps.
“Everybody wants a break, but I really don’t mind being in a tough situation,’’ Tollefson said. “However it unravels at least it’s still in our hands. Anytime you’re in a place where you’re hoping for something to happen to another team that’s not a good place to be in.’’
The Giants are not in that place. Not yet.