Without Odell, Giants Offense Has No Bite in Big D

COWBOYS 19 - GIANTS 3 

Odell Beckham's ankle problem turned into a nagging problem for the Giants Sunday in their 19-3 loss to the Cowboys in Big D. The Giants were lifeless. There was no zest, no power, seemingly no motivation on the field Sunday, and that is as much of an indictment of the players on the field as it is the head coach. No one player should make or break a football team, especially at wide receiver; but Sunday's loss made it abundantly clear that the Giants can't function without their flamboyant superstar.

For the entire first half the Giants did nothing, and I mean literally nothing offensively. In five offensive possessions in the first half, the Giants punted four times. Their longest drive of the half was only 23 yards, with the biggest play being a busted screen from Eli Manning to Sterling Shepherd for a gain of 12 yards and first down. By the way, the Giants didn't get a first down until midway through the second quarter.

The only time the Giants resembled anything of a competent offense was at the start of the third quarter on a long, time consuming drive that ate up 10 minutes of clock just for a field goal. Perhaps Ben McAdoo should have gone for it on fourth and goal at the Dallas seven, he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Instead he showed little confidence in his veteran quarterback and even less confidence in the skill players around Eli Manning. Taking the three was a cheap way of getting points while your desperate.

By the time the game ended, the Giants recorded only 13 first downs, 233 yards of total offense, and averaged 4.4 yards per play. That just won't get it done in a league predicated on throwing the football for huge chunks of yards.

The offensive line which was a big concern coming into the season for the Giants remained so in Week 1. They gave Eli Manning absolutely no time to set up and throw. Manning spent a big chunk of the night on the turf. He was sacked three times, and was hit and dropped to the ground eight other times. Overall Manning threw for a measly 220 yards and a costly interception that sealed his teams fate in the fourth quarter.

Not to mention Manning couldn't get on the same page with any of his receivers. Brandon Marshall was held without a catch until the next-to-last play of the game with 25 seconds to go. Tight end Evan Engram had only four catches for 44 yards, and Sterling Shepherd had only 44 yards on seven catches. And this is supposed to be a dynamic offense? This is supposed to be the Giants version of the "Greatest Show on Turf"? The Giants were so bad offensively they made the Jets look good. That's hard to do.

As for Dallas they crushed the Giants in every facet of the game. Offensively the Cowboys whipped the Giants defense with a total of 71 plays, most of which came in the first half. While the Cowboys didn't get the ball into the end zone much, they held the football for nearly 35 minutes and rolled up 392 yards of offense and 22 first downs. It helped that Dallas was 8-of-15 on third down conversions as well.

Ezekiel Elliott, who is still facing a possible suspension for his role in a domestic abuse case, ripped apart the Giants exhausted front seven for 104 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Dak Prescott wasn't great, but was efficient, throwing for 268 yards and a touchdown. Jason Witten even got into the record books at the Giants expense when he passed Michael Irvin for the most yards by a receiver in Dallas Cowboys history.

It is anyone's guess had Odell Beckham been healthy, this game would have been different. The Cowboys played very defensively against the Giants. It's not like Big Blue didn't have playmakers. But without their biggest star on the field the Giants seemingly had no shot on Sunday. Beckham's status for next Monday's home opener against Detroit remains a puzzle. The fact is the Giants need him and they need him badly.