Notes & Stats: Giants vs. Cowboys Recap

27 Sep 2024

Giants.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes and statistics from the Giants' 20-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night in MetLife Stadium:

Giants vs Cowboys - Figure 1 — Photo Giants.com

*The Giants scored all their points on Greg Joseph's career high-tying five field goals, from 52, 41, 38, 22 and 42 yards.

*It was Joseph's second career five-field goal game. On Oct. 2, 2022, he made all five of his attempts for the Minnesota Vikings in a 28-25 victory at New Orleans.

*This was the 12th game in Giants history in which a kicker booted at least five field goals (one with six field goals and 11 with five). The most recent five-field goal game had been by

Graham Gano at Washington on Sept. 16, 2021, also a Thursday night game. Gano's field goals were from 23, 47, 52, 55 and 35 yards.

*Joseph had the 11th game in Giants history in which a kicker had three field goals of at least 40 yards. Gano has done it six times, most recently at Minnesota on Dec. 24, 2022, when he kicked 3-pointers from 44, 44 and 55 yards. Joseph was the opposing kicker in that game. The other Giants kickers to accomplish the feat are Josh Brown (2), Matt Bahr (1) and Pete Gogolak (1).

Joseph had the eighth performance in Giants history with three field goals longer than 40 yards in a regular-season game. Six of the previous seven were by Gano. The seventh was by Brown.

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*Joseph's third field goal, a 38-yarder with 1:06 remaining in the first half, capped a 15-play, 52-yard drive that took 8:10 off the clock. It was the most plays the Giants have run in an offensive possession in a regular-season game since Oct 9, 2022, when they had a 15-play touchdown drive against the Packers in London. The Giants ran 20 plays in a drive that ended with a field goal in the 2022 NFC Wild Card Game in Minnesota.

The drive was the Giants' longest by time in the regular season since Dec. 18, 2022, when the held the ball for 8:35 in a touchdown drive in Washington and the longest overall since the series against the Vikings took 10:52 to complete.

*Daniel Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards. His only interception – and the game's lone turnover - was on his final throw, a desperation bomb to Jalin Hyatt with five seconds remaining. In the first two quarters, Jones hit 13 of 15 throws for 142 yards.

*Rookie Malik Nabers was targeted on 15 of Jones' passes and caught a career-high 12 for 115 yards, including a 39-yarder that was the Giants' longest completion of the season. Nabers caught 10 passes for 127 yards at Washington on Sept. 15.

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*Wan'Dale Robinson was targeted 14 times and finished with a career-best 11 catches, for 71 yards.

*Kayvon Thibodeaux's 8-yard sack of Dak Prescott with 32 seconds left in the second quarter – his first full sack of the season – ended a long drought for the Giants. It was the team's first sack of a Cowboys quarterback since Dec. 19, 2021, when Lorenzo Carter sacked Prescott for a 6-yard loss and forced a fumble that was recovered by Austin Johnson.

*Thibodeaux had the Giants only sack, four days after they had eight sacks in a victory in Cleveland.

*Rookie safety Tyler Nubin (six solo) and linebacker Micah McFadden (five) led the Giants with eight tackles apiece.

*The Giants fell to 1-3 and next play on Oct. 6 in Seattle. They are 0-2 in the NFC East.

*The Giants have lost seven in a row and 14 of their last 15 games to Dallas.

*The Giants rushed for 26 yards on 24 carries. It was their lowest rushing total since they ran for 23 yards in a 34-17 loss to the Jets on Nov. 10, 2019. Their previous low in Brian Daboll's three seasons as head coach was 29 yards at San Francisco in their 2023 Thursday night game.

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*Devin Singletary had 24 of the 26 yards. Jones, Tyrone Tracy and Eric Gray combined for six yards, but Nabers lost four yards on his only carry.

*Gray and Tracy each returned two kickoffs, the former for 54 yards and the latter for 33. But Tracy fumbled the second-half kickoff, which sailed right into the arms of tight end Chris Manhertz. On the next kickoff return, Tracy was replaced by punt returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

*Duke Shelley, elevated Thursday from the practice squad, made his Giants debut on special teams and in the dime defense and was credited with one solo tackle.

*Dallas' Brandon Aubrey kicked a 60-yard field goal in the third quarter, the fourth-longest ever against the Giants. Ironically, two of the three longest field goals vs. the Giants were by kickers who now play for them.

Gano kicked a 63-yarder for the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 7, 2018. Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal on Dec. 24, 2022, which matched Jake Elliott's 61-yarder in Philadelphia on Sept. 24, 2017. Joseph and Elliott made their kicks as time expired. Gano's went through the uprights with one second remaining.

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*The Giants have lost their last nine games played on Thursday since 2016 and are 3-19 in prime time since 2018. They have two night games in October, at home vs. Cincinnati on a Sunday night and a Monday night game in Pittsburgh.

*The Giants' inactive players were cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson and rookie Dru Phillips, who each have a calf injury; linebackers Benton Whitley and Boogie Basham; safety Anthony Johnson; guard Jake Kubas; and quarterback Tommy DeVito (third quarterback).

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Evan Pinkus/NY GIANTS

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Evan Pinkus/NY GIANTS