Jason Pierre-Paul has it right: Loss to Redskins is 'terrible'

LANDOVER, Md.

Sure, the final score was less embarrassing than it might have been, and the Giants had a realistic chance at a semi-miraculous comeback victory.

And yes, Tom Coughlin did his best to put a slightly positive spin on things by crediting his players for not giving up.

But let's be real here and turn to defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul for the most accurate take on a 20-14 loss to the Redskins at FedEx Field on Sunday.

Asked to describe the Giants' performance, particularly in light of the Eagles and Cowboys doing all they could on Thursday to serve the Giants the NFC East on a Thanksgiving platter, JPP paused, then said this:

"Terrible."

Later he was asked if perhaps the Redskins had surprised the Giants with something they did. Pierre-Paul ignored the question and responded, "Their effort was more than us today. The effort, they wanted it more badly.

"As a group, we didn't play well at all. Special teams, offense or defense didn't play well. You see the outcome of it. We lost."

The Giants went 1-3 in November yet remain tied for first place at 5-6, owing to the forgiving math of the 2015 NFC East. But rather than take control of the division, they ensured themselves at best a difficult slog through December and into January.

Or maybe not, if they do not get their act together before then.

Four defeats by a total of nine points -- including a thrilling, heartbreaking 27-26 loss to the Patriots on Nov. 15 -- had led some to believe the Giants were better than their .500 record indicated. But as any fan old enough to remember Bill Parcells understands . . . well, you know his famous old line.

The Giants are, in fact, what their record says they are: a limited, injury-challenged mediocrity. "We are 5-6 for a reason," Odell Beckham Jr. said after a game that featured his latest circus catch in the end zone.

Does that mean they will lose to the Jets on Sunday in a hugely important game for both teams? Of course not. Both teams are inconsistent, inscrutable middle-of-the-pack enigmas.

And that includes the guy who should be more of a given than anyone -- quarterback Eli Manning, who entered the game on a statistical roll, then threw three interceptions, although only one of them truly was his fault.

"Too little, too late," Coughlin said by way of opening his postgame news conference, during which his tone was far more supportive and philosophical than after the gut-punch against the Pats before the bye.

Even the most cynical Giants fan had to feel a little bad for the team after that one. But there was no excusing Sunday's debacle. The Giants had a chance to give Manning the ball down six with about three minutes left, but Kirk Cousins completed a 20-yard pass to Jordan Reed on a third-and-5 play on which Reed beat Craig Dahl.

So while Pierre-Paul correctly noted the offense "did nothing at all" for three quarters, the defense came up short when it counted. "As a unit, terrible," he said. "We had a chance to seal the deal and we didn't get the job done."

The ghost of bad Giants losses past made an appearance when DeSean Jackson punctuated a 63-yard touchdown reception by running along the goal line to show off before entering the end zone -- a reprise of what he did on an infamous punt return for the Eagles in 2010 that cost those Giants an NFC East title.

It remains to be seen whether Sunday's loss eventually has the same effect.

"I'm frustrated," said Pierre-Paul, who played his third game since returning from an offseason fireworks accident. "I am upset about it . . . They wanted it more badly, and they won."

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.