The much-anticipated Giants debut of tight end Darren Waller did indeed come off Sunday night against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.
The hamstring tightness Waller experienced late in the week did not keep him off the field. That was about the only positive development for the player and his team in a horrific 40-0 loss to the Cowboys.
There was never really a significant danger of Waller missing the game. But when he showed up Friday on the injury report, listed as questionable with a hamstring issue, the alarm and concern about his availability was understandable, given his recent history.
Darren Waller did record some time on the field after experiencing hamstring tightness late in the week. AP“I had to think about what it was going to look like on Sunday, but the team worked with me and I was able to go out there and do all the snaps they asked me to do and not have it really affect me,’’ Waller said. “It was a little frustrating to not have that entire week rhythm you usually have as a player, those full practices to feel great about everything.’’
The game was one to forget. The best moment for Waller came in the second quarter, when he leaped to haul in a pass from Daniel Jones for a 22-yard gain. Waller finished with three catches for 36 yards.
“I feel there were some looks there early in the game, some pressure kind of negated those,’’ Waller said. “Some things got rolling towards the end of the first half I feel could be built upon.’’
Waller said he came out of the game fine, although he did feel the hamstring at times during the game.
“There were some running really deep down the field where it might nip a little bit,’’ he said.
This was nearly the worst shutout loss in franchise history.
The Giants were beaten 45-0 by the Eagles during the 1948 season.
In their two-game sweep of the Giants last season, the Cowboys had eight sacks of Jones and did not allow any sacks of their quarterbacks.
On Sunday night, there were seven sacks by the Cowboys and none by the Giants on Dak Prescott.
Daniel Jones is sacked by Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa during the second quarter. Bill Kostroun/New York PostDating to last season’s 38-7 playoff loss to the Eagles, the Giants have been outscored 78-7 in their past two games.
Graham Gano took a hit on the blocked field goal in the first quarter.
“I took a good cleat to the calf on the first one,’’ Gano said. “I’ll be fine.’’
In his first game with the Giants, LB Bobby Okereke forced a fumble of RB Tony Pollard early in the third quarter but the Cowboys recovered the ball.
Rookie Eric Gray made his NFL debut and had a seven-yard punt return late in the second quarter. … Rookie CB Deonte Banks had to leave the field in the third quarter when he cramped up.
The Cowboys became the second team in NFL history to get a special-teams touchdown and defensive touchdown in their first quarter of the season.
The Bears have done it twice — in 1967 and 1986.
Five of the six players the Giants designated as inactive were dealing with injury concerns: WR Wan’Dale Robinson, CB Cor’Dale Flott, S Gevarrius Owens, LB Cam Brown and DL D.J. Davidson were all inactive.
The only healthy scratch was G Shane Lemieux.
The Cowboys were without starting safety Donovan Wilson and starting left guard Tyler Smith.
WR Sterling Shepard, the longest-tenured Giants player — he was a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft — did not encounter any setbacks in his rehab from a torn ACL and embarked on his eighth season with the Giants. Shepard played sparingly and did not have a catch.
