'Skunked!': Takeaways from embarrassing NY Giants' 40-0 loss to the Cowboys

EAST RUTHERFORD — New York Giants co-owner and team president John Mara knows sports and this city well.

So when he joked about the rock star status achieved by Brian Daboll this offseason, the lighthearted warning was meant not just for the head coach and reigning NFL Coach of the Year, but for the team he brought to the playoffs last season and picked up their first postseason victory since Super Bowl XLVI in the process.

"We kid him, I mean, right now he's Bono walking around New York City," Mara told Sirius XM NFL Radio back in March. "But I've told him — I've said: 'In this business, it doesn't take long to go from Bono to Bozo."

Well, Daboll's Giants went out and slipped on those clown shoes while slapping the wig and red nose on Sunday night with how they played in a "humbling" season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Humbled. Embarrassed. Humiliated.

Outplayed. Outcoached. Outclassed.

There are usually several ways to make sense of an outcome in the NFL, but in this case, with the way the Giants were overwhelmed, it's a fruitless exercise. Nothing predicted could have explained what transpired inside MetLife Stadium.

The offensive line couldn't block a soul. Daniel Jones reverted back to forcing throws, two of which turned into interceptions, including a Pick 6. And the defensive front from Dallas dominated from pillar to post.

"Obviously, it’s tough to lose, and it’s tough to lose in this fashion, but you can’t dwell on it," Giants right tackle Evan Neal said. "We’ve got Week 2 next. We’ve got to prepare for Week 2. Obviously, we wanted to come out here and put on a better performance, but the result we got was the result we got. It’s behind us now. All we can do is move forward."

Here's my biggest takeaway from last night's debacle: Own it.

You were collectively terrible in every facet. Don't run from that. Embrace how badly you played. There's no escaping it.

You don't have an offseason to lick your wounds, either, like you did after last season ended in Philadelphia in the playoffs.

You have 24 hours. Maybe less than that, maybe a few minutes more.

And Daboll agreed on a video call Monday, saying: "You can’t run from it, you can’t hide from it, you own it, and then you move on."

Dig deep. Show up in Arizona. This isn't last year. The team that fought and scratched and clawed to nine wins and another in the playoffs is gone. You have to earn that identity again.

I don't believe effort was the problem, not collectively anyway. I think belief was, and that's even harder to turn on and off. It's going to be a challenging week for the Giants as they prepare for a road trip to Arizona and then San Francisco with two games in five days without coming back to New Jersey until after "Thursday Night Football" against the 49ers.

Here are some other takeaways:

Evaluate with a critical eye

The Giants will try to turn the page Monday when they meet and evaluate the tape collectively. But reviewing what went on means nothing if the players don't dig in and truly look in the mirror.

"We just got skunked here, 40 to nothing," Daboll said. "When you play a game like that and coach a game like that, there's nothing that's good enough. Our job is to go back and look at it with a critical eye, just like we would do in any game, but 40 to nothing is not a good score, obviously. So, a lot to work on and that's what we'll do."

The Giants kept telling us all summer: "This isn't last year. This isn't last year."

Well, after Sunday night, they were proven correct. So now what? This team has to prove its own mettle. The "I know the guys in this room" pleas fall flat.

That goes from the coaches on down. It's one game, 16 left. Get it right before it's too late.

Andrew Thomas took this one hard

It's bad enough the Giants endured a blocked field goal that turned into a kick-you-in-the-teeth touchdown early in the first quarter. But then to have star left tackle Andrew Thomas tweak his hamstring chasing the play from behind added injury to insult, and in a play that really hurt.

Afterward, in trying to explain away Sunday, Thomas acknowledged that he played through the pain and discomfort, and the result was nowhere near the standard he has set.

The Giants can't afford to lose Thomas for any amount of time, and to watch him sitting in front of his locker, faced away from a crowd of reporters, and barely speaking above a whisper, the reality of such a performance sinks in.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Giants: Takeaways from embarrassing 40-0 loss to the Cowboys