Giants’ depleted secondary had no answers vs. Cowboys receivers

The Giants’ Plan B secondary was no answer for CeeDee Lamb and the rest of one of the NFL’s most explosive passing attacks.

Forced to start three backups because of injuries to safety Xavier McKinney and the starting cornerback duo of Adoree’ Jackson and Fabian Moreau, the Giants hung tough for a half with the help of two timely interceptions, but allowed 106 receiving yards to Lamb and two touchdowns to tight end Dalton Schultz in a 28-20 loss to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington, Texas.

“That team has a lot of good receivers and they made some good plays,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “We were trying to mix it up and double [team] certain guys. Our guys competed, I thought.”

Fill-in Rodarius Williams had an interception cutting in front of Lamb on a sideline route and a pass breakup in one-on-one go-route coverage against Lamb. But Williams and fellow subs Cor’Dale Flott, Nick McCloud and Jason Pinnock eventually succumbed to one-handed catches, crucial penalties and bad tackling angles. Flott missed the final 18 minutes with a concussion to add to the shorthandedness.

“Adoree’ and Fabian have been playing at a really high level this year,” said safety Julian Love, the lone remaining regular starter. “There’s going to be a drop-off, but I thought the guys who were in there played their asses off. … They have something to build off of.”

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott went 21-for-30 for 261 yards and two touchdowns. He overcame the two interceptions to finish with a 91.1 rating. The Cowboys had three touchdown drives lasting at least 10 plays and covering 75 yards or more.

“You miss all your good players who aren’t there,” Daboll said.

For a half, it looked as if defensive coordinator Wink Martindale might pull another rabbit out of his hat. After the two-minute warning, Prescott got greedy in field-goal range and was intercepted by Love off a deflection from cornerback Darnay Holmes. The Giants turned the takeaway into three points and a 13-7 lead.

But Lamb was a handful in the slot for Holmes, the Giants’ most experienced healthy cornerback. Holmes twice was called for drive-extending illegal contact penalties on third-and-long, though the second flag seemed to be a phantom whistle by an officiating crew led by referee Scott Novak, which is known to be among the most flag-happy in the NFL. That penalty led to a Dallas touchdown.

“Penalties killed us,” Love said. “That’s so tough when they get free first downs off of penalties. Tough to overcome, especially those down-the-field penalties when we had stops.”

Lamb made a one-handed catch while fighting through pass interference and nearly added two more highlightreel grabs. He was ruled out of bounds on one, which the Cowboys challenged to no avail hoping for a touchdown, and he couldn’t corral another, with the consolation prize that he was mugged by Williams to draw a flag.

“Since college, it’s always been a competitive battle with me and him,” Holmes said. “He’s a great player. I’m a great player. That’s the way it goes.”

Lamb was targeted 11 times, an ominous sign for the Giants’ short-handed secondary with games against other elite receivers Terry McLaurin, Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown looming in December.

Pinnock, who started in place of rookie Dane Belton, missed a shoestring tackle at the 2-yard line as Schultz dove in for his second touchdown.

“Guys were thrust into the spotlight. Thanksgiving Day game, a lot of pressure,” Love said. “We have some confident guys in the secondary. My level of play has to raise, just like everybody else’s has to raise.”