Giants players call team ‘soft,’ question effort after loss

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Defensive captain  Dexter Lawrence II thought the New York Giants played “soft” in a 30-7 blowout loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers had a similar assessment after a game where he didn’t get a touch in the first half.

“Soft as f—,” he said in frustration.

Veteran offensive lineman  Jermaine Eluemunor’s assessment indicated a lack of overall effort.

“I personally don’t think everybody is giving 100 percent,” Eluemunor said.

Standout edge rusher Brian Burns on trailing 30-0 at home off their bye week: “That’s ass.”

Not exactly a glowing review of what the Giants (2-9) put on the field as they dropped their sixth straight game. It also happened to be their first contest this year without Daniel Jones at quarterback.

Jones was benched at the start of the week. He was released Friday. The “spark” the Giants were looking for from Tommy DeVito wasn’t there, for reasons that extend well beyond the quarterback.

DeVito threw for 35 yards and was sacked three times in the first half alone as the Giants faced a 23-0 halftime deficit. He finished 21-of-31 for 189 yards passing.

It was as if Nabers, the Giants’ top playmaker, didn’t play in that first half. He wasn’t even targeted.

“Go out there first, second quarter, don’t get the ball,” he said. “Start getting targets at the end. I mean, can’t do that. Start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What do you want me to do?”

Nabers finished with 6 catches on 9 targets for 64 yards — all in the second half. He was left unsure what happened in that disastrous first half and why he didn’t get the ball.

“I don’t know,” Nabers said. “Talk to [Giants coach Brian] Daboll about that.”

The Giants (2-9) are at a crossroads, with only a few days to prepare for a Thanksgiving matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

“Extremely [angry],” Lawrence said. “We played soft, and they beat the s— out of us today.”

Lawrence didn’t consider the defense’s problem to be a lack of effort although the Giants allowed 450 yards, which could have been more if not for the lopsided score in the fourth quarter. Instead, he pointed to their inability to tackle and cover.

Nabers, the explosive rookie receiver, seemed equally frustrated and upset. He said he’s tired of losing. And he didn’t think it had much, if anything, to do with what happened with Jones this past week.

“Obviously, it ain’t the quarterback,” Nabers said. “Same outcome we had with [Jones] at quarterback. Take a look. Take a look. It ain’t the quarterback.”

So, what is it?

“I don’t know. Everyone knows better than me. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know what it is,” he said. “I know I’m tired of losing.”

Eluemunor, who left in the first quarter because of a quad injury and was unable to return, called the loss “embarrassing.”

The veteran offensive lineman who previously played for the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots and recently shifted positions for the second time this season for the sake of the team, noted that the poor effort has happened on more than one occasion this year.

“I personally don’t think everyone’s giving 100 percent. And I mean, you’re 2-9, you have to be real with everyone. I’m 29 years old. I’m a vet in this league and if anyone has a problem with me saying that they can come see me. But I think this franchise and these coaches, and these fans deserve way better. And like I said, there’s a lot of people on this team giving everything they have. But it’s not everyone.”

This was the Giants’ fifth loss this season by eight points or more. They haven’t held a lead since winning in Seattle on Oct. 6, a span of six games.

Daboll was asked afterward how to explain the type of performance his team put on the field Sunday off their bye.

“It wasn’t good. It wasn’t good,” he said. “For a variety of … missed tackles, converting in the red zone, turning the ball back over in the red zone. We had a good week of practice. Did a lot of work and obviously it didn’t show.

“So, no excuses.”