ARLINGTON, Texas - The Giants got a reality check in their loss to the Detroit Lions four days earlier.Now came the gut check.Because despite all the optimism that surrounded Brian Daboll's Giants for the first three months of the season, and rightfully so, given the best start for the franchise since 2008, they took the field inside AT&T Stadium for their clash on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys overwhelmed by a bunch of uncertainty

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Giants got a reality check in their loss to the Detroit Lions four days earlier.

Now came the gut check.

Because despite all the optimism that surrounded Brian Daboll's Giants for the first three months of the season, and rightfully so, given the best start for the franchise since 2008, they took the field inside AT&T Stadium for their clash on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys overwhelmed by a bunch of uncertainty

So what did that mean for the Giants? It was going to be a tall task to pick up a triumph on Turkey Day, but an opportunity to prove their mettle. They did so for a half, taking a 13-7 lead into the break before failing to hold the Cowboys down. They also lacked the firepower yet again on offense to keep up with Dallas, and a pair of Dak Prescott-to-Dalton Schultz touchdown connections proved too much to overtime in Thursday's 28-20 loss.