Giants vs. Cowboys ‘Kudos and Wet Willies’ review: No more Mike Glennon, please

The New York Giants have now lost double-digit games in five straight seasons, a 21-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday having dropped them to 4-10. Let’s get to the ‘Kudos & Wet Willies.’

Kudos to ...

Lorenzo Carter — Sunday was the best game of Carter’s four-year career. Carter had two sacks of Dak Prescott, the first multi-sack game of his career. He added two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. This was Carter playing the way the Giants hoped he would when they selected him in Round 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft. It only took until his 46th career game.

Devontae Booker — The Giants’ backup running had the team’s two biggest runs on Sunday, 31 and 28 yards. He carries eight times for 74 yards (9.3 yards per carry) and caught two passes for 8 more yards. I long ago admitted that Booker is a better player than I thought he was this summer, and he showed it again vs. the Cowboys.

Leonard Williams — All sorts of props to Williams. Wearing a brace to protect his injured triceps, Williams played when he knows many players would not have.

“I think I just take a lot of pride in being a durable player and being out there with my teammates knowing that they can count on me to be there,” Williams said. “I haven’t missed a game my whole career. I think I missed one game in college and it was because my coach purposefully forced me to take that game off because I was playing through a shoulder tear I had in college and he wanted to rest me right before the Stanford game. I think I just wanted to finish this year strong with my guys.

“I think a lot of players would probably sit out if they had the same thing. Peoples’ agents are probably telling them to sit out, coaches are probably not going to question you if you sit out. But I’m doing this more for myself than anything, more for my teammates, as well. I think me and my defensive line have a really tight group and I don’t want to leave them hanging out there. I’m really doing it for them and for myself, as well.

Williams played well, with three tackles, two pressures and a forced fumble.

Personally, I gained a lot of respect for Williams on Sunday. In a 4-10 season, he didn’t have to put himself through that.

Jake Fromm — It was only one drive and about three minutes of playing time, but Fromm injected some life into the Giants’ offense. He completed four passes to the Giants’ wide receivers, who had only eight receptions in the entire game. He did enough to force the Giants to have a “conversation” about who starts at quarterback if Daniel Jones can’t, and did enough to give Giants fans something to look forward to watching next Sunday against the Eagles. If he starts, of course.

Graham Gano — Gano made field goals of 35 and 42 yards for the Giants’ only points. He is pretty much the offense.

Giants’ defense — Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson and backup safety J.R. Reed were on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Jaylon Smith signed on Friday and had one walk-through practice. Jarren Williams was starting at cornerback for the first time. Leonard Williams was playing when most players probably would not have. Blake Martinez, Jabrill Peppers and Darnay Holmes on IR. No help from the offense. Yet, there is little to complain about from the defense.

Three sacks, two by Lorenzo Carter. Lots of physicality from the entire group. Good work from Jarren Williams. a combo sack from rookies Azeez Ojulari and Quincy Roche.

Wet Willies to ...

Will Hernandez — The Giants averaged 5.2 yards running the ball. They gave up only nine pressures and a sack in 37 drop backs, per Pro Football Focus. Hernandez, though, had a rough day. He as abused by DeMarcus Lawrence, a defensive end the Cowboys often moved inside and who was far too athletic for Hernandez. The fourth-year guard also continues to struggle to pick up line stunts.

Mike Glennon — I can hear the screaming now. Three ‘Wet Willies’ in three weeks for Glennon, and Ed hardly ever treats Daniel Jones like this. Well, sorry. What we witness from Glennon on Sunday was pitiful quarterback play. A 13 of 24 for 99 yards with 3 interceptions and a 24.8 passer rating stat line that only hints at how bad Glennon’s performance was.

The second and third interceptions were the kind of throws you expect from a high school quarterback. The second interception was thrown ridiculously far behind Sterling Shepard. The third was a gift to Trevon Diggs that never should have been thrown.

Not to mention that Glennon seemed utterly incapable of completing passes to the Giants’ wide receivers — the guys on the roster specifically to catch them.

I still can’t figure out why the Giants thought Glennon as their backup quarterback this season was an acceptable plan.

Kwillies to ...

Saquon Barkley — There were a few nice runs, and Barkley seemed more willing to hit the hole and try to push the pile than he has at times this season. There was that spectacular one-handed catch. Barkley ended up with a decent 74 yards in 19 touches (15 carries, 4 receptions). Still, he had that crushing fumble at the end of the first half and the Giants’ biggest running plays of the day were turned in by Booker.