In the wake of the New York Giants’ 20-15 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, head coach Brian Daboll faced the media and emphasized the need for improvement. Despite the loss, which marked the Giants’ seventh consecutive defeat against their archrivals and 14th loss in the last 15 meetings, Daboll remained optimistic about the progress his team had made.
Daboll, now 0-5 against Dallas in his three seasons as head coach, acknowledged the disappointing result but pointed to signs of improvement in the team’s performance. “The result stinks. But I thought there was improvement,” Daboll stated. “I think there’s been continual improvement of the results.”
The Cowboys, who came into MetLife Stadium with a 1-2 record and questions surrounding head coach Mike McCarthy’s job security, appeared more vulnerable than usual. Despite this, Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who has a career record of 1-10 against Dallas, dismissed any notion of moral victories. “I’m not getting no petty wins,” Lawrence declared. “Whoever won on the scoreboard, that’s the game. I don’t give a damn about a petty win. That’s football. We come out here to score points to win and stop them on defense. We didn’t do that, and they beat us.”
Following the loss, the 1-3 Giants find themselves in familiar territory: last place in the NFC East. With a Week 5 matchup against the undefeated Seattle Seahawks looming, the Giants will have a brief respite to regroup and reflect on their performance. As a quarter of the season is now behind them, the pressure is on for the team to show tangible results in the coming games.
Despite the defeat, there were some positives for the Giants to take away from the game. Wide receiver Nabers was a standout performer, racking up 12 catches for 115 yards on 15 targets. Nabers made an early impact on the game by exploiting a matchup with backup cornerback Andrew Booth for a 39-yard gain on the opening drive. This forced the Cowboys to assign their top cornerback, Trevon Diggs, to cover Nabers for the remainder of the game.
As the Giants lick their wounds and look ahead to their next challenge, the clock is ticking for Daboll and his team to turn their improvements into wins on the field. Despite the setback against the Cowboys, there is optimism in the Giants’ camp that they are heading in the right direction.
