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The Giants bought the kickoff at residence on Sunday night time and superior to the Dallas Cowboys’ 8-yard line in 9 performs. What a begin to the season!
What a begin certainly. Graham Gano’s discipline purpose strive was blocked and returned for a landing by the Cowboys’ Noah Igbinoghene. The reversal appeared someway to bless Dallas and curse the Giants. After 60 minutes, the Giants had scored 0 factors, and the visiting Cowboys had scored 40.
“We bought beat all the best way round, from teaching to taking part in,” Giants Coach Brian Daboll mentioned. “Don’t sugarcoat it, it was a nasty sport,” he added, displaying a eager skill to learn a scoreboard.
Daniel Jones handed for under 104 yards for the Giants, had two interceptions and two fumbles (each had been recovered) and was sacked seven occasions. Saquon Barkley might do little to assist: He managed solely 51 yards on 12 carries.
Dallas took a 26-0 halftime lead with out even placing collectively an extended landing drive, as an alternative scoring on the blocked discipline purpose return, a discipline purpose, an interception return, one other discipline purpose and a 38-yard drive following one other choose. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had solely 143 yards passing. He didn’t want any extra and will have gained the sport with far much less.
It was the fifth lowest passing whole for a workforce profitable by 40 or extra factors. (In 2005, the Seattle Seahawks protection overwhelmed the Philadelphia Eagles by 42-0, whereas Matt Hasselbeck handed for 98 yards for the winners.)
Coming off a 9-7-1 playoff season, the Giants weren’t essentially anticipated to win the N.F.C. East. However in addition they weren’t anticipated to be flat-out unhealthy. They usually had been on Sunday night time.
“This wasn’t our greatest sport, there’s little doubt about it,” Jones mentioned. On the plus facet, it additionally was not their worst.
As terrible because it appeared, the sport was not the largest shutout loss for the Giants. That was a 45-0 shellacking in 1948 towards the Eagles. “The New York Soccer Giants had little going for them as we speak,” The Instances sports activities part helpfully identified the following morning.
However amongst video games in Week 1, when hopes are typically excessive even for essentially the most pessimistic fan bases, it was the worst for the Giants and fifth worst general.
If there’s a signal of hope for the Giants, and their followers would possibly want an electron microscope to identify one as we speak, it is likely to be present in historical past. Two of the 4 groups with worse opening week shutout losses ended up having good seasons.
Unhealthy can nonetheless portend unhealthy, after all: The 1954 Baltimore Colts, who misplaced to the Los Angeles Rams of their first sport by 48-0, ended up 3-9, and the 1999 Cleveland Browns, who misplaced by 43-0 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, completed 2-14.
However the 1989 Steelers rebounded from a 51-0 loss to the Browns to complete 9-7, and in 1991 Detroit misplaced by 45-0 to Washington however completed 12-4. Each these groups gained a playoff sport as properly. (The Lions haven’t gained one since.)
As unhealthy as Sunday was, it was removed from the worst shutout loss in N.F.L. common season historical past. That got here in 1934 when a workforce known as the Cincinnati Reds misplaced to the Eagles, 64-0.
The Reds had been kicked out of the league after that sport and by no means performed once more. Say what you need in regards to the Giants’ effort on Sunday night time, however they are going to line up in Arizona to face the Cardinals subsequent Sunday.
Proper?
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