The New York Giants dropped their 13th consecutive game to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott with Thursday’s 20-15 loss at MetLife Stadium.
But it wasn’t the NFL’s highest-paid player that dropped the Giants to 1-3. Rather, according to fans and media, it was struggling quarterback Daniel Jones’ inaccuracy on deep throws that was to blame.
‘Daniel Jones has been very efficient tonight, which is good,’ Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano wrote on X. ‘But he’s misfired on every deep throw. The Giants can win games with ‘efficient’ play, but at some point he’s going to have to hit those deep shots for the offense to really be good.’
Jones finished with 281 yards on 29-of-40 passing Thursday. His final attempt, fittingly, was an underthrown Hail Mary pass that fell into the arms the Cowboys’ Amani Oruwariye as Dallas improved to 2-2 on the season.
Remarkably, the Giants have now gone four home games and 44 drives without scoring a touchdown with Jones.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) meet
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys
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‘Daniel Jones has been short on pretty much all his deep throws,’ ESPN’s Giants correspondent Jordan Raanan wrote on X. ‘That is something we saw a lot this summer as well.’
‘Daniel Jones just doesn’t have a deep-ball arm,’ agreed former FS1 host and Cowboys fan Skip Bayless.
Former Cowboys defensive end and current ESPN analyst asked: ‘Is Daniel Jones Arm not strong?’
One would-be interception on a deep ball was negated by a Dallas penalty, but Jones had other underthrown passes on Thursday. Consequently, the Giants failed to score a touchdown for the second time this season.
Meanwhile, Prescott had a pair of touchdown passes, including one to CeeDee Lamb, who finished with 98 yards receiving.
Prescott completed 22 of 27 passes for 221 yards while helping Dallas defeat New York for the seventh straight time and 14th time in their last 15 meetings.
There was some good news for the Giants.
Star rookie Malik Nabers has 12 receptions for 115 yards before leaving the game late with a reported concussion. Wan’Dale Robinson caught 11 passes for 71 yards for New York. Both players set career highs for catches in a game.
Malik Nabers had his breakout game for the Giants before leaving with a potential concussion
The Giants trailed by only five when they opened the third quarter by moving 77 yards on 11 plays. But the drive stalled at the 3-yard line and the Giants had to settle for Joseph’s 22-yard field goal to move within 14-12.
Brandon Aubrey answered with a 60-yard field goal with 5:06 left in the period for Dallas. It was the second straight week that Aubrey was good from 60 or more. Last week, he booted a 65-yarder, the second-longest in NFL history, during a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Joseph booted his fifth field goal, a 42-yarder, with 11:11 left in the contest to bring New York within 17-15.
Aubrey responded with a 40-yarder with 6:54 remaining.
New York came up empty on the next drive when Jones’ fourth-and-6 throw from his own 45-yard line for Nabers was incomplete with 3:21 remaining. Nabers dove for the ball but could not hold on, landing on the ball with his body and his head appearing to hit the ground. Nabers was on the field for a few minutes before getting up. He left for the locker room a short time later.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown tackles Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson
Dallas star linebacker Micah Parsons exited with an apparent lower-leg injury with 3:30 left. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) was injured in the third quarter and didn’t return.
The Cowboys limited New York to 26 rushing yards.
Prescott threw two touchdown passes to help Dallas to a 14-9 lead at halftime. Joseph booted three first-half field goals, including a 52-yarder to start the scoring. He also hit from 41 and 38 yards.
The Cowboys led 7-3 after Prescott’s 15-yard scoring pass to Dowdle with 2:06 left in the opening quarter.
Prescott later hit Lamb inside the Giants’ 40-yard line and the receiver turned it into a 55-yard scoring play to give Dallas a 14-6 lead with 9:16 left in the half.
Now the Giants head to Seattle for a matchup with the Seahawks in Week 5, while the Cowboys face the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football.