PITTSBURGH — The Giants are finally showing some urgency.
One problem: It’s too late.
Their season is toast. They have lost three straight games — most recently Monday night at the Steelers — and they’re now 2-6. They have two wins or fewer at the eight-game mark for the seventh time in eight seasons.
Another season in the gutter before Halloween. Rinse and repeat. It’s officially mock draft season — already (and yet again).
But for what it’s worth — probably not much at this point — the Giants’ veterans spoke candidly after Monday’s 26-18 loss about what must change immediately.
“The team needs to grow up,” said edge rusher Brian Burns.
Said defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence: “I think we have to show more passion as a team — or as leaders.”
The only thing at stake in the final nine games is the job security of coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. (Oh, and the Giants’ chances of drafting an elite quarterback prospect next spring, if they again win too much down the stretch.)
Co-owner John Mara can “anticipate” all he wants that he won’t fire Daboll and/or Schoen after this season. But what if things keep going off the rails? What if the Giants don’t grow up? How would Mara feel then about Daboll as the long-term leader of his team?
The Giants’ players, of course, can’t worry about potential postseason firings. They are just trying to fix this mess in the moment. And to that end, there was plenty of urgency during and after Monday’s game — on the sideline and in the locker room.
In the second quarter, the Steelers settled for a field goal (and 9-6 lead) after replay reversed a touchdown pass on which the Giants’ secondary — including No. 1 cornerback Deonte Banks — fell apart. Banks — who had failed to give effort twice already this year — was benched after that.
Following that play, Lawrence screamed at the defensive backs on the sideline. He wanted — needed — to see a whole lot more than they had just shown.
“We’ve got to play harder!” Lawrence yelled at his teammates, as he recalled later. “We’ve got to stop that play!”
Lawrence didn’t care that replay overturned the touchdown. It shouldn’t have come to that, in his mind. Lawrence said his frustration level was “extremely high” in that moment. Though he has been angry like this at teammates before, it hasn’t happened this publicly, on the sideline during a game.
“I’m a passionate dude, and I put a lot into this game,” Lawrence said. “I expect a lot to come back — and for my teammates also to give a lot to the game. I think I’m a little frustrated because we’re a good team and we keep beating ourselves every week.
“We can’t have that — and I addressed it. We’ve just got to be mentally locked in on every play — not just plays here and there. That’s where my frustration comes. On game days, we’ve got to show up.”
These sentiments from the Giants’ best player — and a veteran leader — aren’t exactly a good sign for Daboll, whose job as the head coach is to motivate and get his players focused on details.
But Burns pushed back on that.
“The coaches can [only] say so much — period,” he said. “It’s the players.”
Burns pointed to “details” and “preparation” as areas in which the Giants must “grow up.” This stuff was at the heart of right guard Greg Van Roten’s postgame locker room address to the entire team.
Again, though, it’s too late. The season is over. But obviously, the Giants’ players don’t (and can’t) view things this way, even if that is their objective reality.
“To me, it doesn’t come down to effort,” Burns said. “I feel like guys play hard. I think it just comes down to details and being super detailed in your job.”
Why is this still an issue, eight games in — under a third-year head coach, no less?
“Frustration,” Burns theorized. “Things not going your way and momentum switches can cause people to lack on their details.”
The Giants seemed to be building a winning culture coming out of the 2022 season, when they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. Then they went 6-11 last season and are 2-6 this season. So where did that culture go?
“I think this team is better than that team that we were winning with,” Lawrence said. “Just the little s--- beats us. It’s on every individual to be focused. Everybody has just got to give a little more. Just show more passion. That’s something you’ve got to do to grow.”
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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.