The best thing about the worst day of the season for the Giants is that they simply cannot dwell on it for too long. 

“I think we’re all already anxious to get this taste out of our mouths and come back and play a much better football game,” Daniel Jones said. 

All the good stuff the Giants crammed into their surprising and resurgent season did not make it to the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Perhaps the first cold burst of impending winter blew it all away. 

Or, perhaps, the Giants were due to have a stinker. 

They accomplished little on offense, as Saquon Barkley was stuffed, repeatedly, forcing Jones to fling it in the wind. Jones went six consecutive games without throwing an interception but that streak came to a crashing end. On defense, they had to absorb the loss of Adoree’ Jackson, their best cornerback, who went down with a knee injury while returning a punt. The special teams units were shaky. 

It all combined to produce the poorest performance of the season by the Giants under Brian Daboll, their first-year head coach. They led, briefly, in the second quarter but could not sustain quality play on their side of the ball in a dreadful 31-18 loss to the Lions that inflicted a heavy physical toll. 

“Nothing was up to standard,” Daboll said. 

In addition to Jackson — who went out early in the second quarter — the Giants lost four other starting players to injury: Right tackle Tyre Phillips (neck), center Jon Feliciano (neck), wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) and cornerback Fabian Moreau (ribs). This does not bode well for what comes next, as the Giants have a short turnaround this week before facing the high-flying Cowboys in Arlington, Texas on Thanksgiving Day. 

“The memory has to be a lot shorter,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “It’s onto Dallas.” 

There is not much the Giants will want to remember about their afternoon in the chill. At 7-3, they have not lost back-to-back games all season but they will be undermanned going into a key NFC East matchup. The Cowboys are 7-3 after knocking off the Vikings and the Eagles are 9-1 after coming back to beat the Colts. 

“We got to turn this around quick,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. 

Barkley came into the game as the NFL’s leading rusher and the Lions were the league’s 31st-ranked rushing defense. Form did not hold, as Barkley was completely shut down, carrying the ball 15 times to gain only 22 yards. His longest run of the day was 4 yards. Jones threw two interceptions and receiver Isaiah Hodgins lost a fumble. For a team with little margin for error, the three turnovers led to 10 points for the Lions and gave the Giants no chance. 

This was ugly. The Giants were down 17-6 at halftime and 24-6 after three quarters. The Lions (4-6) won their third straight game. Jamaal Williams ran for three touchdowns. 

It was instantly clear the Lions were selling out to contain Barkley. 

“I was trying to take what they gave me, try to focus on taking the little runs, taking the little runs and when the opportunity comes, make ‘em pay,’’ Barkley said. “I didn’t make ‘em pay at all today.’’ 

Jones’ best quality this season has been his ball security and the end of his interception-less run came at a rough time. He got the streak up to 153 consecutive passes, the most in the NFL this season. Jones looked for Darius Slayton over the middle but instead found defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who reached up to secure the ball and returned it 20 yards to the Giants’ 18-yard line. Three plays later, Williams scored from three yards out and it was 10-6. 

“Yeah, didn’t see him there,” Jones said. “Got to see it, bad decision there. Good play by him, can’t afford to do that.” 

A poorly hit punt by Jamie Gillan floated only 25 yards to set the Lions up on their 32-yard line and a Goff 32-yard completion to wide open Amon-Ra St. Brown put the Lions on the move. Williams notched his second rushing touchdown and the Giants were down 17-6. After a poorly run offensive series with 44 seconds left in the half, Jones was sacked on the final play before halftime and the Giants left the field to a chorus of boos. 

It never got any better in the second half. The Lions took the opening kickoff and had no trouble moving 56 yards on nine plays against a depleted Giants defensive backfield that had Rodarius Williams and Cor’Dale Flott in at cornerback. Williams’ third rushing touchdown put the Giants in a 24-6 hole early in the third quarter. 

Just like that, the Giants are in a precarious situation, banged up and on a short week. How much is their confidence shaken? 

“Zero,” Barkley said. “They came out here and played great. We’re not gonna panic, we’re not gonna worry. We’re not gonna waver at all. That’s for you guys to go out there and say what you’re gonna say about us. We got to move on.”