Rating the Giants’ 27-20 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Thursday:

attack

Different quarterback, same inability to get the ball into the end zone often enough. Drew Lock (21 of 31, 178 yards) ran for a touchdown, but his two turnovers (pick-six, lost fumble) led to 14 points for the Cowboys.

The running backs – Devin Singletary (7-23) and Tyrone Tracy (9-32) – didn’t do much. Lock was attacked relentlessly, sacked six times and hit a total of 14 times. RT Evan Neal had a false start penalty with Micah Parsons breathing down his neck and was barely able to contain Parsons later on a sack in the third quarter.

A nice lead by Tracy was wiped out by a holding penalty on rookie TE Theo Johnson. A sizable gain on a pass to Malik Nabers was recovered by a call from TE Chris Manhertz.

Going 3-for-13 in the third isn’t enough, and just 247 total yards against a weak defense isn’t good enough. At least Nabers (8-69) got involved early.

Degree: D

defense

Cooper Rush threw the ball 36 times, and he’s not exactly a gazelle there, but there were no sacks. None. Memo to edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux: It is permissible to harass and actually sack the quarterback.

Thibodeaux picked up two offside penalties and ended a brutal first half by mindlessly shoving Rush in the back to convert the passer penalty. The Cowboys ranked 31st in rushing, yet Rico Dowdle (22-112, 1 TD) averaged 5.1 yards.

CB Cor’Dale Flott covered Brandin Cooks well and later parried a deep ball to Jonathan Mingo, but gave up a 36-yard completion to Jalen Tolbert. Rookie safety Tyler Nubin was called for pass interference to extend a Dallas drive. Veteran CB Adoree’ Jackson was hit by Cooks for a touchdown and was called for pass interference shortly after.

Offside on first down late in the game by Elijah Chatman? Ridiculous.

Degree: C-minus.

Special teams

Art Green had a big hit on KaVontae Turpin and a stop with no yards in punt coverage. A little later, Green tiptoed across the goal line to intercept Jamie Gillan’s 41-yard punt at the 1-yard line.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette punctuated a 22-yard punt return by passing Damone Clark for a few yards. Gillan expertly angles a 53-yard punt out of bounds.

Eric Gray lost a fumble on a kickoff return – we’ve seen this before – and he was lucky to have Matthew Adams recover the ball. Graham Gano made field goals of 46 and 47 yards.

Degree: B-plus.

Coaching

At least the Giants fought until the end, which is important for Brian Daboll’s assessment. Committing 13 penalties for a 98-yard loss doesn’t suggest Daboll has a tight grip.

Daboll was right to score fourth-and-1 from midfield midway through the first quarter, and he was rewarded for it. Tell us if you’ve heard this before: Shane Bowen’s defense looked shabby, he failed to stop the run and the tackling issues are alarming.

Degree: D