ARLINGTON, Texas — Were the Giants an out-of-control mess on the sideline, tempers flaring, in Sunday’s 49-17 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium?
They certainly looked as if their emotions were fraying.
Down 28-7 in the third quarter, Darius Slayton went after wide receivers coach Mike Groh, a conversation that was heated.
Sterling Shepard, the longest-tenured Giants player, had a few words with Slayton and the two appeared to exchange angry words.
So, what happened?
“I don’t know what the cameras caught, I’m sure it probably looked combative to me and him but it wasn’t in the moment,’’ Slayton said of his interaction with Groh. “I was just already worked up so I was talking emotionally. At that point we weren’t arguing back and forth, we were talking about the same thing, spiritedly.
“I just have to manage my emotions a little bit better in those scenarios.’’
Shepard said he approached Slayton to try to calm him down.
“Just trying to motivate him to keep on going,’’ Shepard said. “It’s frustrating, obviously, you look at the scoreboard and how the game went down. I was just trying to motivate him to keep on going and fighting.
“Listen, that is like my brother, like my mother’s kids. It was straight me motivating him to go out there, that’s the honest truth.’’
Slayton said he was fine with Shepard stepping in.
“Got a lot of love for him, spent the last three Thanksgivings at his house,” Slayton said. “There’s a lot of people on this earth I would have to yell at but he will never be one of them. He’s like my brother.”
Saquon Barkley looked as if he had heated words for coach Brian Daboll near the end of the first half. Barkley said it was frustration about a failed fourth-down conversion.
“There was no argument, nothing like that,’’ Barkley said. “It happens. It’s football.’’
LT Andrew Thomas on a running play deep in Giants territory — a 3-yard loss for Barkley — got his left leg rolled up by rookie defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
Thomas stayed down, was able to get to his feet and walk off the field and then was taken away on a cart to the locker room.
What at first appeared to be a serious knee injury was in fact not that, as Thomas was able to return to the game in the second quarter.
While he was out, Justin Pugh moved to left tackle and Marcus McKethan went in at left guard.
“Any time you get rolled up it’s kind of worrisome, you feel kind of a hopeless feeling,’’ Thomas said.
Cowboys DT Neville Gallimore was disqualified for kicking Pugh late in the fourth quarter.
“Look, he hit the quarterback late, I took exception to it, I hit him, I shouldn’t have done that when he was on the ground, pushed him and he kicked me,’’ Pugh said. “I’ve gotten in so many fights in my career, I’m not gonna cost myself money. He’s gonna get a FedEx so I feel bad for him on that. I don’t want a guy to lose money. But you don’t kick somebody on a football field.’’
CBs Deonte Banks (ankle) and Cor’Dale Flott (shoulder) missed time in the second half.
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie WR Jalin Hyatt left the game with concussions.
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