Giants Q&A: What impact did Thibodeaux, Ojulari have in debuts?

Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari  made their 2022 debuts in Monday night’s 23-16 loss to the Cowboys. Did they make a difference?

Not really. Brian Daboll said both were on “pitch counts” as they returned from preseason knee and calf injuries, respectively, but even when they were on the field together, there wasn’t much in the way of a pass rush generated by them. Ojulari drew one holding call against the Cowboys and Thibodeaux managed to bat down one pass, but the two had just one tackle each in the game and rarely came anywhere near Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush.

With Sterling Shepard almost certainly done for the season, whom might the Giants turn to at wide receiver?

The most likely candidate  probably would be Cole Beasley, who is on the Tampa Bay practice squad. The Giants  reportedly were interested in signing the former Bills slot man in the preseason and early in the regular season but could not offer him enough to entice him to reunite with Brian Daboll and the rest of the former Buffalo contingent now in East Rutherford. Beasley did appear in Sunday’s game for the Bucs as a game-day elevation but reverted back to the practice squad after the contest and is free to sign with any team that comes calling for him. With Shepard out, Kadarius Toney missing time with a hamstring injury, Wan’Dale Robinson dealing with a knee injury that has sidelined him for two games and Kenny Golladay a complete non-factor in the offense, it may be time for the team to see if Beasley can make it to New Jersey in time for Sunday’s game against the Bears.

Speaking of Golladay . . . 

Yeah. Even with the Giants shorthanded at the position, the highest-paid receiver on the team was an afterthought. He did make one nice catch in the second quarter for a 20-yard gain that was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty against Shepard, but in the fourth quarter, Daniel Jones tried to throw him an important third-down pass and he dropped it.

To his credit, Golladay did not use his lack of playing time as an excuse for the drop.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s just something you have to deal with,” he said. “You have to stay locked in and be ready . . .  I definitely wish I could have it back.”

Golladay was targeted three times in the game and was held without a reception. On the season, he has two catches for 22 yards, all of them in the Week 1 win over the Titans.

As for the trade rumors surrounding Golladay, the receiver said he hadn’t seen the NFL Network report suggesting that could be the best for both sides and said he is “not worried about that.”

What happened on the interception by  Jones late in the fourth quarter?

David Sills, his intended target, slipped on the in route and Jones threw it to where he should have been. Unfortunately for him, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs did not slip and was in perfect position to make the catch. “That can’t happen,” Sills said. “I can’t let the offense down like that, can’t let [Daniel] down like that. Just can’t happen.”

How close were the Giants to stopping the Cowboys on fourth-and-4 from the 41 with the score tied at 13 early in the fourth quarter?

Really close. Cooper Rush hit CeeDee Lamb with a pass and rookie safety Dane Belton met him with a huge hit right at the sticks. Belton said he thought he might have stopped Lamb short of the first down, but the officials gave the Cowboys the first down. Dallas then ran a play quickly to prevent the Giants from challenging the spot. Three plays after that, Lamb scored the  touchdown that gave Dallas the lead for good.

Were the Giants going to challenge that spot on fourth down?

“No,” Daboll said. “They said he made it upstairs. I had the red flag. They went quick, but they ended up seeing a replay and they said, ‘He’s got it.’ ”

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.