ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cowboys could barely lay a glove on Kadarius Toney.
The rookie receiver was not around to finish what he started Sunday, though, because he laid a glove on a Cowboys defensive back and got himself ejected.
“All rookies have some maturing to do,’’ coach Joe Judge said.
Toney did all he could to keep the depleted Giants competitive but despite his breakout performance, it was not enough to prevent a 44-20 loss at AT&T Stadium. Toney caught 10 passes and his 189 receiving yards set a Giants record for a rookie. The former record holder? Odell Beckham Jr., who had 185 yards as a rookie for the Giants in the 2014 season finale against the Eagles.
“Man, he’s special,’’ said quarterback Mike Glennon, who replaced Daniel Jones (concussion) in the second quarter. “I think he showed what he is capable of doing. That was fun to see.’’
What was not fun for the Giants to see was Toney losing his cool.
He caught a 13-yard pass and did not like getting hit as he struggled for more yards by safety Damontae Kazee. Tight end Evan Engram came to Toney’s defense and Toney took a swing, connecting to Kazee’s helmet. He was ejected.
“That’s not going to be accepted, that’s not going to be condoned,’’ Judge said. “That’s as far as I’m going to go with that.’’
Asked if he thought Toney might be suspended, Judge added: “I’ll let the league deal with that.’’
Veteran receiver Kenny Golladay said he spoke with Toney after the game.
Kadarius Toney Getty Images“At the end of the day he’s still going to make mistakes,’’ Golladay said. “The only thing I can tell him is not to make that mistake. I’m pretty sure he’ll want that one back.’’
With Golladay forced out for the second half with a knee injury, Toney was the go-to target. The start of his NFL career was sluggish — he tested positive for COVID-19 and had to deal with a hamstring issue — but he is starting to show the elusive quality the Giants fell in love with during the pre-draft process.
Toney made a high-degree-of-difficulty grab on the right sideline for 43 yards in the first quarter. In the second quarter, he turned a short pass into a 28-yard gain, shaking and baking to get yards-after-catch production. That set up the Giants’ first touchdown.
Early in the third quarter, Toney went up against top corner Trevon Diggs and won the battle with a 35-yard reception on a pass from Glennon.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Giants lined Toney up at quarterback and from the Dallas 9-yard line got him the ball on a direct snap. He ran for 7 yards but on the next play, he was knocked to the turf by cornerback Anthony Brown, did not get the call and Glennon’s fourth-down pass sailed wide.
“You just don’t see that at the NFL level very often,’’ Glennon said. “Making guys miss like that.’’
