EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — The good news for the New York Giants is that they weren’t shut out or embarrassed on national television on Sunday by a divisional opponent.

Of course, the bad news is that a loss is a loss, whether it is by 27 points or one point, and the Giants, who fell to the Dallas Cowboys 31-21, have now lost two in a row and are 1-2 against division opponents.

The worst of it is that the Giants, who this week enter their bye, must do some major soul-searching to find answers as to why they are unable to find success against teams with winning records. They will begin a post-bye week stretch against four clubs that have winning records — the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

“We have to come together and figure out a way,” head coach Tom Coughlin said. “I’m concerned with playing better football with our execution, our ability to run the football, defensing the run — I hope we come back with great resolve after the bye and look at the opportunities that are in front of us.”

While there are external concerns about whether the Giants have what it takes to climb out of the hole they have created for themselves, no one on the team is pressing the panic button just yet.

“I think we have the talent, yes,” said quarterback Eli Manning when asked if the Giants had what they need to get it done.

“Some of it is developing just because we’ve got some new guys playing at positions. There are still some young aspects to it but there is definitely the talent there. When you get through some of the growing pains of these young guys they’re doing a lot of good things.”

“The effort is there for everybody, so now we’ve just got to string some things together, eliminate some of the mistakes, some of the mental mistakes that occurred,” Manning continued. “They’re not huge ones — we’re playing smart — we’ve just got to play that much better to be able to get back in that win department.”

“There’s a lot more football to be played,” added defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. “Don’t give up on us yet. Don’t count us out.”

That is a lot to ask from a fan base that has seen very few encouraging signs from the Giants during these last two weeks.

“We play some very good teams, but we continue to try to improve on things we’re doing poorly and look forward to the opportunities that are coming ahead of us,” Coughlin said.

“We have nine more games to play,” Pierre-Paul said. “Let’s win all nine games. I think we can do it; we just have to believe.”

Notes: Running back Rashad Jennings (knee) said he is still targeting the Colts game for a comeback.

REPORT CARD VS. COWBOYS

–PASSING OFFENSE: B – Despite missing slot receiver Victor Cruz, the Giants passing game held up well, as quarterback Eli Manning was not sacked nor did he throw an interception. Where the passing game was hurt, however, was by the two fourth-quarter fumbles by tight end Larry Donnell, the first of which led to a Cowboys touchdown.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: D – The Giants went into the game determined to run the ball. The problem is that the offensive line couldn’t sustain their blocks nor could they handle the movement that the Dallas defensive line was giving them. Rookie Andre Williams, who has gotten the call with starter Rashad Jennings sidelined, finished with 51 yards on 18 carries while Peyton Hillis finished with 29 yards on six carries, most of his yards coming during garbage time.

–PASS DEFENSE: C – The Giants managed to get two sacks against Tony Romo, but they also let him wiggle free too often. Cornerback Prince Amukamara did all he could to keep receiver Dez Bryant in check. However, the absence of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who played sparingly due to hamstring and back injuries that limited him in practice leading up to the game, really hurt the Giants pass defense, as did the strategy to move both safeties in closer to help with run support.

–RUSH DEFENSE: D – Despite bringing the safeties closer to the action to help stop the run, the Giants yielded 156 yards on the ground, their second highest total allowed to an opposing team this season. As has been the case in each of the four games this season in which the Giants have allowed 100 or more rushing yards, New York remains vulnerable on the edges, with their defensive ends and linebackers either struggling to disengage from blocks or being too slow to cover from sideline to sideline.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B – For once, the Giants special teams weren’t outplayed by the opponent. Punter Steve Weatherford led the way with five solid punts combining height, distance and direction. Kicker Josh Brown sent all four of his kickoffs out of the back of the end zone. And returners Odell Beckham (punts) and Michael Cox (kickoffs) actually helped the Giants gain decent starting field positon on their drives.

–COACHING: C – Although the confusion wasn’t as bad as last week, the Giants game plan still had some head-scratching moments. On offense, Ben McAdoo’s decision to stay with the running game, despite the fact that it wasn’t working and not exploit the favorable matchups his receivers had against the Cowboys corners down the field was curious. On defense, the Giants seemed so intimated by the Cowboys running game that New York left an already short-handed defensive backfield to fend for itself with minimal support, meaning the safeties weren’t always there to provide the deep help.