3 Takeaways from Giants' Week 15 Loss

It's been another tough season for the New York Giants as they've been trying to get their franchise back on track. And things didn't get any better for them on Sunday afternoon.

The Giants dropped their third straight game, falling 21-6 to the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. New York is now 4-10, marking its fifth straight season with double-digit losses. It has also lost 10 or more games in seven of the past eight years.

The Cowboys took a 6-0 lead on Ezekiel Elliott's 13-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes and 31 seconds to go in the first quarter, and they led the rest of the way. The Giants never got into the end zone, with their six points coming on a pair of field goals by Graham Gano.

Here are three takeaways from New York's Week 15 loss.

With Daniel Jones still sidelined by a neck injury, Mike Glennon started at quarterback for the Giants for the third straight game. It was another uninspiring performance by the 32-year-old Glennon, who went 13-of-24 for 99 yards and three interceptions.

This time, Glennon didn't make it to the end of the game. New York opted to pull the veteran in favor of second-year quarterback Jake Fromm, who made his NFL debut. After being signed off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad earlier this month, Fromm went 6-of-12 for 82 yards.

Although Fromm's lone drive resulted in the Giants turning the ball over on downs while the game was already out of hand, it may be wise for the team to let the 23-year-old lead the offense while Jones is out. Fromm could still have a bright future in the league, and New York should take this time to evaluate him.

"We got to a point in the game where I wanted to see what Jake could do, point-blank," Giants head coach Joe Judge said, per The Athletic's Dan Duggan. "That will obviously open up a conversation about what we're going to do this week. We'll talk about it as a staff, and we'll make the best decision for the team."

That should lead to Fromm making his first career start on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, because New York has already seen what Glennon can do (and it hasn't been great).

Saquon Barkley is no longer missing games due to injury, but there's still a question of how healthy the Giants running back is. That's because he hasn't been playing like himself all season, and his numbers have been disappointing on a weekly basis.

On Sunday, Barkley had 15 carries for 50 yards and four receptions for 24 yards. He hasn't rushed for more than 64 yards in a game this season, and he's scored only one touchdown over his past six games.

Barkley also fumbled for only the third time in 798 career touches, and it's the first time he has lost a fumble.

"From what I remember, I was cutting up and the guy punched it out," Barkley said, per SNY's Colin Martin. "I've got to go back and watch my ball security. Hats off—I don't know who made the play—hats off to whoever made the play, but I've got to be better."

That isn't just the case with ball security. In order for the Giants offense to be successful, they likely need Barkley to be better all around and get back to playing the way he did early in his NFL career.

While there weren't many bright spots for New York on Sunday afternoon, there was one on the defensive side of the ball. Lorenzo Carter, who hasn't been much of a factor over his first four seasons with the Giants, had the best showing of his career thus far in this loss.

Carter had four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Both of Carter's sacks came in the fourth quarter, and he stripped the ball out of Prescott's hands on one of them, allowing the Giants to recover it.

Through the first 14 weeks of the season, Carter had no sacks and only two quarterback hits despite having made 10 starts. This was the first time he had a sack since Week 2 of the 2020 season, when he recorded his lone sack of the year in a loss to the Chicago Bears.

Carter, who was a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, is still only 26, so the linebacker could become a key part of New York's defense. But he'll need to have more performances closer to this, which haven't been common for him to this point. Perhaps this will be a game he can build off moving forward.