ARLINGTON, Texas — Unlikely as it may have been even for the most optimistic of Giants fans, the day had potential — albeit a minuscule chance — to morph into a feel-good story.

There was a little bounce in the team’s step during the week leading up to Sunday’s rematch against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, because Tommy DeVito, the 25-year-old undrafted rookie free agent from Jersey, was making his first NFL start and that added some “juice’’ to an otherwise forgettable season.

DeVito, with his uncommon swagger for a young player with so few credentials, has endeared himself to his teammates, who seemed genuinely intrigued by what the kid might bring to the table in a game few gave the Giants a chance to win.

As it turned out, there would be no feel-good story. There was, in fact, nothing to feel good about at all.

Not for DeVito.

Not for the Giants.

Not for anyone but the Cowboys, who had their way with the Giants yet again in an utterly dominant 49-17 thrashing.

If the Giants thought they were humiliated by the Cowboys in their 40-0 opening-night loss at home, as it turned out they hadn’t seen anything yet.

The Giants were noncompetitive. They’ve been outscored by their NFC East rivals 89-17 in the teams’ two meetings this season, and they look hopeless.

“It’s definitely tough right now, losing like that, getting embarrassed week after week,’’ running back Saquon Barkley said. “It’s the NFL. We shouldn’t be getting beat like this no matter what the situation is.’’

The Giants are 2-8 and have no hope. Sadly, it appears they cannot compete with DeVito behind center. He didn’t look like an NFL-ready quarterback on Sunday, and who knows if he ever will.

But where do the Giants go from here?

With Daniel Jones out for the season with the torn ACL in his knee and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor out indefinitely with busted ribs, after DeVito on the depth chart is journeyman Matt Barkley, who hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2020, hasn’t started one since 2018 and is just 2-5 as a starter in his career.

Let’s be clear about this, though: This loss was hardly all on DeVito.

Shame on the defense, which was supposed to be the least of the Giants’ worries. Wink Martindale’s group looked overmatched all night, allowing an obscene 640 total yards to the Cowboys, the most since 1943 when the defense yielded 682 to the Bears.

And when it was all over, in the dead quiet of the losing locker room, in between accountable players like linebacker Bobby Okereke and Barkley and receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard, who were caught on camera having a heated exchange on the sideline, there was a disturbing lack of accountability taking place from some supposed team leaders.

That left an even more unseemly stench to this loss and the state of the team.

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who was given a four-year, $90 million contract extension in the offseason and is a team captain, declined to speak to reporters after the game and answer for the pathetic performance on the field.

Safety Xavier McKinney, another captain on defense who spent all last week dodging reporters after he publicly threw Martindale under the bus following last week’s loss in Las Vegas, also declined to be interviewed.

Defensive end Jihad Ward, who produced all of one tackle in the game, also declined to be interviewed, saying only, “I’m going to talk to you, just not today. I’m going to speak my mind. I’ll let you know.’’

We’ll be waiting with bated breath for that. In fact, don’t bother. Too late.

In the first half, the Cowboys amassed 368 net yards of offense to just 26 for the Giants. Dallas had 239 passing yards to 16 for the Giants, 129 rushing yards to 12. The Cowboys had 20 first downs to one for the Giants and were gaining 8.8 yards per play to 1.3 per play for the Giants.

Teams in other sports around the world are relegated to lower divisions for performances as putrid as the one the Giants delivered on Sunday.

Of concern, too, and symptomatic of losing, there were public displays of frustration on the Giants’ sideline in the game, with Barkley in an animated exchange with head coach Brian Daboll after failing to get a first down on a fourth-and-3 in the second quarter, then Shepard trying to talk the frustrated Slayton off the ledge.

These are overt signs of a meltdown, which has the Giants in a precarious place right now.

“We all can do better, starting with me,” Daboll said.

“Confidence is not where it needs to be, obviously,” offensive lineman Justin Pugh said. “We got our asses kicked by a team in our division, so that stings even more. It’s on us to win a game. No one’s coming to save us.”