It’s too early to say whether yesterday’s loss at the Meadowlands heralds the beginning of yet another late-season collapse for the Giants. But it’s not too early to say that the Giants won’t win the NFC East.

By losing to Dallas 31–20, the Giants fell to 6–3, two games behind the division-leading Cowboys. While a two-game gap in the standings with seven games to play is hardly insurmountable, the gap in talent between the Cowboys and Giants is large enough that there’s not much question that the Giants are playing for second place.

The Giants’ defense picked up against the Cowboys yesterday where it left off in the season opener, allowing Dallas to move the ball with ease. Cowboys running back Julius Jones ran 20 yards on the first play of the game, and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo finished the opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Curtis. Romo scrambled to avoid the Giants’ pressure, taking a couple of steps as if he was about to run, and then found Curtis wide open in the end zone. (Romo appeared to cross the line of scrimmage on the play, which would have made it an illegal forward pass, but the officials missed it and Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin did not challenge the call.)

The Giants responded with an 8-play, 67-yard scoring drive of their own, ending with an eightyard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Jeremy Shockey. That catch was the beginning of an excellent day for Shockey, who had one of the best games of his career, not only as a receiver but also as a blocker, where he had a major impact on the Giants’ running game. He frequently got the better of the Cowboys’ outside linebackers and helped make room for running back Brandon Jacobs to run.

But Shockey was the only member of the Giants who turned in an effort worthy of a game for first place in the NFC East. So important was Shockey to the Giants’ passing attack that Manning completed 12 of 14 passes for 129 yards and his only touchdown when throwing to Shockey — but just 11 of 20 passes for 107 yards and two interceptions when throwing to all of his other receivers. Manning looked indecisive for much of the game, and the Giants had three delay of game penalties, all coming when they were trailing late in the game and should have instead had a sense of urgency.

Penalties were costly for both teams. A Chris Snee holding call negated a Jacobs fourth-quarter touchdown, and Ahmad Bradshaw had an 83-yard kickoff return called back because of a holding penalty on Kevin Boss. But the Giants’ eight penalties for 70 yards were surpassed by the Cowboys’ 10 for 84. The Giants’ first offensive possession was aided by three Dallas penalties, including one on which Jacobs flopped to the ground after barely being touched by Cowboys linebacker Bradie James, convincing the officials to slap James with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Another Cowboys linebacker, Kevin Burnett, taunted Jacobs just before halftime, giving the Giants 15 yards to help set up a 40-yard field goal to tie the score at 17–17.

Some fans will complain today about the officiating, but the real problem for the Giants was the defense. Romo completed 20 of 28 passes for 247 yards, with four touchdowns. Two of those scores were on second-half plays when Terrell Owens (who caught six passes for 125 yards) ran straight through the Giants’ secondary and had the ball dropped directly into his hands. Cornerback Sam Madison, in particular, showed that he just isn’t able to keep up with top-notch receivers such as Owens in man coverage.

After the game, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips was uncharacteristically boastful, saying, “We don’t have a good offense: we have a great offense.” That’s certainly the case when they’re playing the Giants: In two games against Big Blue, the Cowboys have now scored 76 points. Playoff teams like the Giants can’t play like that in big games.

And yet, as the Giants look ahead at the remaining seven games on their schedule, they can take solace in knowing that they still have an excellent chance at a wild-card playoff berth. At 6–3, they are tied for the NFC wildcard lead with the Detroit Lions — and the Giants’ next game is at Detroit. If they win that game, the Giants are in good shape. Lose, and it’s time to wonder if another late-season collapse is looming.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.