Some day-after observations on the Giants’ 36-31 loss to the Cowboys:
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: The Giants and Cowboys always play tight games in what is now named AT&T Stadium – the Giants are 4-1 in the building with the five games decided by a total of 21 points. But this should not have been a close game, and it was because of how well the Giants played on defense. The Cowboys had lopsided edges in time of possession (37:10-22:50) and number of offensive plays (74-59), but went just 5-of-15 on third down. The Cowboys returned two fumbles for touchdowns and only had one legitimate touchdown drive on offense. The run defense on DeMarco Murray (20-86) was solid, and though Jason Witten (8-70) and Miles Austin (10-72) caught a ton of passes, they didn’t get anything deep, and dangerous Dez Bryant (2-44) was almost completely shut down. This was a defensive performance good enough to win for the Giants.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Giants had touchdown drives of 85, 80, 90 and 80 yards, meaning they thrived without any semblance of good field position. They had the rare trifecta of three receivers (Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle) surpassing 100 yards for the first time in team history, and the player who caught the most passes – tight end Brandon Myers (7-66) wasn’t even a receiver. There’s no doubt this can be one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the league, and they might have been able to put some distance between themselves and the Cowboys if not for the dreadful five turnovers on three Eli Manning interceptions and two fumbles. The Giants finished with 428 net passing yards, the fourth-highest total in franchise history.
NO PART-TIME WORK: Jason Pierre-Paul said if he played in the opener coming off back surgery, he did not want to get on the field for just 20 or so plays. Well, he indeed did play against the Cowboys, and he was on the field for 50 snaps, which was very surprising. Clearly, the Giants thought JPP was holding up and he was not complaining of any pain or discomfort. Pierre-Paul said he felt as if he was not himself, but his back was no issue at all — it was rust after missing all four preseason games. He did manage to get a fourth-quarter sack of Tony Romo and figures to make quantum leaps forward as he gets more into the groove. RUSH JOB: Activating fullback Henry Hynoski turned out to be a case of too much, too soon. He looked a bit tentative on his surgically repaired left knee, did not have much explosion as a lead blocker and dropped a pass he usually catches. Hynoski desperately wanted to play, but probably should have waited another week.
GROUND TO A HALT: A stated goal this summer was the improvement of what was a shabby run defense in 2012. To make sure it happened, the Giants signed some big bodies – “bigger butts,’’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said – to win the trench battle at defensive tackle. The first look was encouraging. Murray averaged just 3.8 yards per rushing attempt, and his longest gain was only 13 yards. The rotation at tackle, including starters Linval Joseph and Cullen Jenkins along with Shaun Rogers and Mike Patterson, looked very solid. “I don’t know how many guys they kept shuffling in, but it felt like it was about eight or nine,’’ Tony Romo said of the Giants defensive line.
BAD COMPANY: The six turnovers committed by the Giants matched their worst performance under Tom Coughlin. They last had six turnovers at Green Bay on Dec. 26, 2010, in a 45-17 loss. The Giants also turned over the ball six times at Baltimore on Dec. 12, 2004, in a 37-14 defeat. CORNER BACK: It was quite an extended return for Terrell Thomas, who was on the field for 38 defensive snaps in his first game in two years coming off two ACL surgeries. Thomas said he came out of the game fine and was generally pleased with his performance. He tackled well, but wanted to play a little tighter coverage than he showed. Thomas’ importance rises after Prince Amukamara was forced out of the game with a concussion, leaving his status up in the air for Sunday’s game against the Broncos and Peyton “7 TDs’’ Manning.