The New York Giants let a three-point lead slip away in the final seconds Sunday, falling 40-37 in overtime to the Dallas Cowboys.
On Monday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll focused on the sequence that allowed Dallas to tie the game while also emphasizing there were several missed chances to close out the win.
“We had a number of opportunities throughout the game in every area to close that game out,” Daboll said. “There are things to get better at. They hit that 64-yarder, which we knew was in his range there. They had that big play to the middle route right there. We’d like to be a little bit tighter, but there’s a number of plays that came up throughout the game that if you have one different play there or here, it’s going to make the difference in a game like that.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott connected with Jake Ferguson on an 18-yard completion that moved the ball to the New York 49-yard line with 18 seconds left in regulation. That helped set up Brandon Aubrey for a 64-yard field goal that tied the game.
Daboll chose not to place the blame for the loss on that alone, noting the Giants had more than enough chances to score more than 37 points. For example, the Giants were 1 for 5 in the red zone, surrendered four leads — three in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter — and gained a total of three yards on their two possessions in overtime before Aubrey ended the game with a 46-yard field goal as overtime expired.
“Overall, not good enough. We didn’t get a win,” Daboll said. “So look, there’s always certain decisions that you go back and reevaluate.”
The head coach repeated several times that the loss was the result of the Giants’ overall performance.
“It’s never going to come down to one play. I know that’s the one play that you’re talking about, but collectively, we’ve got to be better,” Daboll said. “We collectively had opportunities and fell short as a collective unit.
“There’s plays we left out there in all three phases.”
