New York Giants need a victory over Cowboys to cure their ills

Odell Beckham Jr. is complaining about the officiating. Victor Cruz is complaining about his role in the offense. New York Giants fans are complaining about Eli Manning and their team’s offense.

The 8-4 Giants seem to be in disarray after Sunday’s 24-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But they know a victory over the Dallas Cowboys will cure many of their ills.

A win would give the Giants a sweep of Dallas and put them within two games of the Cowboys, though with only three to play.

“Hey, we’re the only team to beat Dallas,” Manning said Monday on his radio show on WFAN, “and we’re going against them at home now, and we’ve been playing great at home. So this is a chance to prove that we are a good team and we are a playoff team.”

Where did the O go?

The Giants, with the addition of rookie receiver Sterling Shepard and the return of Cruz, were expected to be better on offense than last season. They aren’t.

The Giants averaged 26.3 points per game in 2015. They average 20.4 points this season and have yet to score 30 points in a game.

Manning did not target Cruz on Sunday, the first time in Cruz’s career that has happened. In the five games since the Giants’ bye, they seem intent to get the ball to Beckham.

Beckham has seen 55 targets the past five games, catching 35 passes for 385 yards. That includes 10 catches for 100 yards and no touchdowns Sunday.

Cruz, who was inactive for one of the past five games, has seen eight targets in his last four games. He has three catches for 131 yards in that stretch.

Manning ranks 22nd in passer rating at 88.3 and has 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Flowers struggling

Left tackle Ereck Flowers has 12 penalties this season, tying for the most among NFL offensive linemen. A holding call by Flowers in the end zone Sunday cost the Giants a safety.

Flowers, the ninth overall pick in 2015, was responsible for eight of 12 pressures the Giants offensive line allowed against the Steelers, according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF rates Flowers 62nd among 77 tackles for the season. He has allowed three sacks, according to STATS, and has seven accepted holding penalties against him.

Pierre-Paul’s injury

The Giants lost defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul for the season after he underwent sports hernia surgery Wednesday morning. Pierre-Paul had 5.5 sacks in the two previous games before Sunday’s loss to the Steelers when he left in the second quarter.

Pierre-Paul, who becomes a free agent in the off-season, had seven sacks in 12 games.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "New York Giants need a victory over Cowboys to cure their ills."