Getty Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year in 2022, but started off 2023 in disastrous fashion on Sunday night, September 10. Daboll and the Giants fell to their division rival Dallas Cowboys, 40-0, in front of a rain-soaked Metlife Stadium crowd.
In his postgame press conference, Daboll took full responsibility for his team’s lackluster performance when asked about how this loss would affect the big picture of the season.
“I’m focused on trying to improve and there is a lot to improve on. It’s one game, it wasn’t a good game. Don’t sugar coat it. It was a bad game and that’s on me. We’ll work to get the things we need to get fixed, which is certainly plenty of things,” Daboll told reporters.
Daboll takes responsibility. “It was a bad game and thats on me”
Daboll was also questioned about the players’ effort in the second half and did not back down in support of his team.
“Those guys are competitors. … That’s not us. … Everybody gives balls out effort, we just didn’t do a good enough job executing, but I don’t question that, not ever.”
Daboll says his players gave “Balls out effort” then gave a death stare at the end of this answer. 😳
Giants Lose to Cowboys in a Way That Has Never Happened
There have been some bad losses in recent years for the Giants, but on Sunday night, the Cowboys and their defense did something to the Giants that had never been done before.
According to OptaStats, no NFL team has ever lost 40-0 or worse, lost the sack battle 7-0 or worse, lost the turnover battle 3-0 or worse, had a blocked FG returned for a TD and threw a pick-6 in the same season.
The Giants managed to accomplish that feat in just one game.
Tonight the Giants:
-lost the game 40-0 (or worse)
-lost the sack battle 7-0 (or worse)
-lost the turnover battle 3-0 (or worse)
-had a FG blocked & returned for TD
-threw a pick-6
No other team in NFL history has had all 5 happen in the same season (let alone all in one game).
One particularly concerning aspect of the game was the poor play on the offensive line. There seemed to be nothing stopping the Dallas pass rush, led by All-Pro DE Micah Parsons. Dallas totaled 7.0 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.
Second-year tackle Evan Neal and right guard Mark Glowinski had glaring problems in pass blocking situations. Neal ended the game ranked 59th out of 60 qualifying tackles in pass block win rates and Glowinski ranked 56th out of 58 qualifying guards for NFL Week 1, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.
Pass block win rates for Giants vs Cowboys: (rate + ranking)
LT Andrew Thomas 88% (32nd)
RT Evan Neal 70.6% (59th)
LG Ben Bredeson 90.0% (32nd)
RG Mark Glowinski 75.8% (56th)
C JM Schmitz 90.3% (18th)
Neal was 59th out of 60 qualifying tackles in Week 1. Glowinski was 56th out…
Daniel Jones & Saquon Barkley Look to Bounce Back After Loss
A 40-0 loss is not an ideal way to open the year, but the NFL is a long 17-game season. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley spoke after the game about how they will help this team move on to Week 2.
“This wasn’t our best game, there’s no doubt about it. This wasn’t who we are capable of being and we’ve got to show that. … We have a lot to work on going forward,” Jones said during his September 10 postgame press conference.
Saquon Barkley has been a Giants captain for five seasons and has had his share of adversity to overcome. Barkley had a message for the team, in particular the rookies. “It’s the National Football League you got to move on. The train (is) gonna keep on moving. Hop on. …You prepare for this moment your whole life, nothing new. … You go to any locker room, any person that’s been in the league long enough, everyone has a bad play so continue to move on, learn from it and go.”
Barkleys message for the rookies after the loss: “The train gunna keep on moving – Hop on”.