You look at Steve Spagnuolo, then at Eli Manning, two guys supposedly with new leases on life. You check in with Landon Collins, wearing a walking boot on his left foot. You see the blank stares of Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon and a rookie named Darius Powe with crutches sitting at his locker.
What the heck is there left to say? Can the Giants’ season end already?
The last day, mercifully, is Dec. 31, and then the Giants ring in the New Year, if possible, by wiping out any memory of what 2017 has wrought.
Spagnuolo took over for fired Ben McAdoo and Manning regained his starting job after last week’s ridiculous demotion, but the sad story remained the same. Nothing changes with these Giants, even after the Monday massacre that purged McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese from the building.
On a clear and cold Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, Manning got a nice ovation as he took the field, the Giants’ defense hung tough for three quarters, and that was about it. The Cowboys, desperately clinging to playoff aspirations, scored 20 points in a span of 4:41 in the fourth quarter and left the Giants dead and buried, 30-10 losers, with the only positive development that they are one day closer to ending this misery.
“I thought we had a good crowd today and I appreciate all the support these past weeks and sorry we couldn’t get them a better game,’’ Manning said.
Apology accepted.
The Giants were 2-10 with McAdoo and are now are 0-1 with Spagnuolo as the interim head coach, a ghastly total of 2-11 that at least will give whoever is calling the shots next a fine-looking draft pick. By losing, the Giants solidified their hold on the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, sitting only behind the Browns (0-13). The resurgence of the 49ers (3-10) has nudged them into the No. 3 spot.
That is for the future. In the here and now, the Giants have to get through this trying to avoid as much embarrassment as possible. They led 10-3 when Manning hit tight end Rhett Ellison on a 1-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. It was 10-10 until midway through the fourth quarter. As always, the Giants saved their worst for last.
“I’m really proud of the men in that locker room. I told them that,’’ Spagnuolo said. “After all we went through this week, I thought the way we came out and the way we played for 3 ¹/₂ quarters was something we could be proud of. We do have to figure out a way in the fourth quarter when it gets down to gut-wrenching time to make a play or two.
“Going forward, if they could continue to do what we did this week in the middle of some adversity — I thought the adversity revealed a lot of good things in our football team. I do believe that unity strengthens and I saw unity and that’s a sign of a stronger football team in my mind.’’
It took a while for the fans to salute Manning with a standing ovation, as the Cowboys got the ball first and ate up 7:46 on a 16-play drive that resulted in a field goal. Thus, Manning was already trailing 3-0 when he took the field amid cheers. He said he was more focused on the Cowboys than the crowd but admitted, “I appreciate all of the support the fans have given me for 14 years and these last weeks, especially.’’
This reaction, after ending his starting streak at 210 games when Geno Smith started in Oakland, was wholly expected.
“Everybody loves Eli, that’s what it is,’’ Collins said, smiling. “I love him, too.’’
Manning got the ball out of his hand quickly in completing 31-of-46 passes for 228 yards, but it did not amount to much, as usual.
Spagnuolo retained the defensive calls and blamed himself for a few blitzes that busted open for huge plays. The Cowboys got a 50-yard scoring pass to Dez Bryant — who wriggled free of a tackle by newly signed cornerback Brandon Dixon, a 54-yard completion to Cole Beasley on a play in which Collins again injured his ankle, a 20-yard TD catch for Giants-killer Jason Witten and an 81-yard catch-and-run touchdown frolic by running back Rod Smith.
“There is definitely something about that fourth quarter, man,’’ Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “You fight hard for three quarters and right when you think you’ve got it, something goes wrong, then something else goes wrong and it just like keeps going wrong.’’
It always goes wrong for the 2017 Giants. Three games to go, but who’s counting?