3 Giants to blame after falling just short of beating struggling Cowboys

The New York Giants were coming off of their first win of the season this past Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Next up for the Giants was a reeling Dallas Cowboys team, coming off two huge losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.

For most of the game, the Giants played well, keeping the game tight and taking advantage of a struggling Cowboys team. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as the Cowboys escaped with a 20-15 win.

While yes, there was a lot of promise from the Giants, but there are fingers to point to for the loss. Here are three Giants who deserve some blame in their Week 4 defeat.

3 Giants to blame for losing to struggling Cowboys in Week 4

3. Deonte Banks, CB

The Giants drafted Deonte Banks out of Maryland with their first round pick in 2023, in hopes that he would become their CB1 for the foreseeable future. He showed flashes of his greatness. The thing is, the Giants didn't do nearly enough to provide help alongside Banks, which has thrusted him into a position to shadow the top wide receivers on the opposite team. This week, it was against Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb.

In the first half, Banks was beat badly by Lamb on a route, resulting in a 55-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys an eventual 14-6 lead. Lamb got past Banks so easily, that he turned around to taunt the second-year cornerback.

As Connor Hughes of SNY points out, Banks has surrendered four touchdowns through four games this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Banks allowed just four touchdowns all of last season.

Eventually, Banks is going to need to lock down the top threats in the opponent's passing game.

2. Devin Singletary, RB

Yikes what a tough outing for the Giants' running game. This was supposed to be a favorable matchup for the Giants, as they were taking on a Cowboys defense that gave up 464 total rushing yards in their previous two games against the Saints and the Ravens.

New York couldn't do anything against Dallas' run defense. Devin Singletary dominated the carries on the Giants, taking the football from quarterback Daniel Jones 14 times. The total amount of yards Singletary ran upfield? Just 26. For the top running back on the team, getting paid $16.5 million over three years.

Overall, the Giants picked up just 26 yards on the ground on 24 total carries. That is simply unacceptable. And the decision to let Saquon Barkley leave in free agency will only add fuel to the fire to those who believed it was a mistake, even though the Eagles have a much better offensive line.

1. Brian Daboll, HC

Brian Daboll called a good game for the Giants, particularly on offense. With the addition of Malik Nabers, Daboll has a way to open things up downfield and made the offense more efficient, especially against Dallas' struggling defense. But there were moments where Daboll was a bit too conservative in his play-calling. As in, not going for it on fourth down to get some touchdowns on the board and settling for field goals.

Perhaps the most egregious happened in the third quarter. The Giants made it all the way to the red zone. On second and goal, Daboll called a run play for Singletary, seemingly indicating they were in four-down territory. After all, they were trailing 14-9. After Jones hit Wan'Dale Robinson for a five-yard gain to set up New York on Dallas' own three-yard line. Instead of going for the touchdown, Daboll instead called for Greg Joseph to kick a 22-yard field goal. Joseph made it, and the Giants cut the Cowboys' lead to 14-12.

This was an odd decision by Daboll. The Cowboys defense was reeling at that point and putting a touchdown on the scoreboard for the lead may have switched the momentum into their favor. The game was theirs for the taking!

Instead of going for the lead, Daboll played it safe. Now, the Giants are 1-3 on the season. Sure there are plenty of positives to take from this game, they undoubtedly would have preferred to leave with the win.