He looked intently at what was going down on the field, saw what he saw and then collapsed, falling onto the bench as if all the energy had been drained from his body and he could stand no more.

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If “crumbled in a heap’’ was a living, breathing entity, it would have been Brian Burns as he realized his great play that should have provided his team with a big lift and at least some points resulted in nothing other than the sickening frustration that the Giants and their fans are infected with and cannot shake.

Once again, on a crystal clear afternoon seemingly created for football, the Giants proved that finding their quarterback is a big, big thing — but not everything. Once again, Jaxson Dart gave them a chance to win and a long list of his older, more experienced teammates provided the Giants with reasons why they so often lose.

Burns on Sunday, with halftime nearing, watched Graham Gano miss a 45-yard field goal — an attempt Burns created with a sack and forced fumble that rookie Abdul Carter plucked out of the air — and as the ball sailed wide left, Burns craned his neck and then slumped, slowly falling as if he was wounded. Physically, he was fine. Emotionally, mentally, at that moment, not so fine.