It should have been a moment of celebration for the Giants.
There was less than a minute to go in the first half of their game with the Bears on Monday night and they led 20-6 after strong performances in all three phases of the game.
Finally, after weeks of doubt and disgust, the storm clouds over the team seemed to be going away.
The first-team offense was much better than it was in the preseason opener against Carolina, resulting in 13 points thanks to a running game that overwhelmed the Bears for much of the first half. The defense gave up a couple of big plays, but they were steel in the red zone while the special teams work was outstanding across the board.
All they needed to do was get to halftime, turn the game over to the lower rungs of the depth chart and enjoy a night when everything went right for a change. They never got that chance.
With 22 seconds to go in the half, Jason Pierre-Paul's leg hit Terrell Thomas' knee while both men were pursuing Jay Cutler on a pass rush and Thomas went down in a heap. He walked off the field on his own power, which seemed to be a good sign until the news of a torn ACL filtered back from the locker room.
It was scheduled to be the last play of the night for Thomas, who was only on the field because the Giants wanted to give their starters more time on the field to compensate for time missed thanks to the lockout. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say.
The injury will cost Thomas the entire season, a disaster for both player and team that totally overshadows their 41-13 win over the Bears. Thomas seemed poised for a breakout season in his fourth year, one that would have ended with free agency and the big raise that standout cornerbacks get from that process.
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The Giants might save some money as a result, but it is hardly a good trade for the team. Thomas is the third cornerback to go down to injury already this preseason -- Bruce Johnson is done for the season with an Achilles injury and first-round pick Prince Amukamara will be out until at least October with a broken foot -- and that leaves the Giants terribly shorthanded at one of the more crucial positions on the field.
Aaron Ross, who played well on Monday night, will move into the starting role and stay healthy, something he hasn't been able to do in his professional career. The team will have to scramble a bit to fill their nickel package with either safety Deon Grant or the relatively untested corner Michael Coe, unless they find a more appealing option once teams start shaking loose players on cutdown day.
You'll hear Tom Coughlin and others say in the days to come that these things happen and the next guy has to step up and do the job, but the reality is very different. Guys are starters because they are demonstrably better than the other options for the job, particuarly true in this case, and the Giants have suffered terribly in recent years when trying to replace injured starters on both sides of the ball.
And just like that the storm clouds were back, darker and more ominous than they've been at any other time in the short time they've been back to work. The good news is that there's still a lot of time left to figure out a way to move forward and find success this season, but the bad news is that the list of things they need to figure out keeps growing.
The Giants looked better on Monday night, which makes it all the more painful to realize that the outlook for the season looks a good deal worse.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
