As far-flung as it felt, the Giants still had thin playoff hopes entering their game against the Tennessee Titans.
They had to win their final three games and then lean on the season-long mediocrity we've seen from the NFC East. The first-place Dallas Cowboys complied by not scoring a single point on Sunday, leaving the door ajar for the G-Men.
But rather than use their recent 4-1 mark as fuel for an unlikely playoff push, the Giants matched the Cowboys goose egg for goose egg, and thus their 2018 season ends with a whimper: a loss to the Titans, 17-0. There are two more games to play. Perhaps those games can be used by coaches and players for jobs, for the film study, or just to audition for their next team, but this season for Big Blue is now a big bust.
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Even in defeat, there is often some gem unearthed below the rigid reality of the scoreboard. But this game was a total failure. Eli Manning, who had a slow but solid resurgence over the last month - and entered the game with career highs in passer rating and completion percentage - did nothing on Sunday. Manning completed just 47.7 percent of his passes for 229 yards and finished with a woeful passer rating of 57.7.
Saquon Barkley, the rookie running sensation and silver lining in a stormy season, had his worst game as a pro, with 56 paltry yards from scrimmage for the volcanic, dual-threat behemoth. Barkley gained just 31 yards on the ground on 14 carries, for an average of just 2.2 per run. Overall, the G-Men held the ball for 24 minutes, converting 15 first downs. If owning the line of scrimmage is the main metric for a football game, consider the Titans rushed for 215 yards, while Big Blue rushed for 47 yards.
When Manning wasn't missing receivers the wet footballs were squirting right through their hands. The Giants offense was so thoroughly inept that it brought back memories of the 1970s club that played on the concrete carpet of the old Giants Stadium, back when Joe Pisarcik was running the offense and when big plays and points were at an appalling premium. (For some eerie symmetry, Pisarcik's career numbers mirrored Manning's day on Sunday, completing 47.3 percent of his passes, for a 53.9 passer rating.)
And even though the Giants only surrendered 17 points, and just 88 yards passing from Titans QB Marcus Mariota, you could blame the weather more than their tackling. Perhaps the only group that took a harder pounding than the Giants was their fans, who sat under sheets of rain and hard wind that didn't seem to let up from whistle to gun, making the skies and climes the perfect backdrop for the home team's performance. Those who stayed to watch the whole horror film at MetLife were left shivering under their makeshift plastic ponchos.
But not even weather sent straight from the Bering Sea could help the Giants stop Derrick Henry. The Titans halfback gutted New York for 170 yards on 33 rushes, including the only two touchdowns of the game. The 2015 Heisman winner, who hasn't quite lived up to his career with the Crimson Tide, has rolled the NFL like a video game over the last two weeks. Henry now has 408 rushing yards and six touchdowns in his last two games.
Plus, the Giants (5-9) made life exponentially easier for the Titans (8-6) with gaffes and galling field position. Of their three scoring drives, the Titans only had to gain over 50 yards once, when they muscled 75 yards in the first quarter to go up 7-0. Their only other TD drive, in the third quarter, took just 14 yards. Even then the Giants sacked Mariota on third down, only to have the play negated by a facemask penalty, giving Tennessee fresh set of downs, and the ball game.
It's a shame the Giants couldn't summon the inspiration to win one more game. Dallas was pounded by the Colts, still leaving the division bereft of a club with nine wins. It was a long-shot, for sure, but the Giants have dwelled in unlikely runs this young century. But these days the Giants are looking more and more like their 1977 team, not that enchanted team from 2007.
Twitter: @JasonKeidel
