MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Giants need to flip the script.
That means reducing the stress that boiled over when coach Brian Daboll flipped an electronic tablet in disgust.
That means absolutely no more ripping the fans who flip burgers for a living, as right tackle Evan Neal did before issuing an almost immediate apology.
That means not flipping out along the offensive line when the opposing defense runs a simple twist game.
It has all gone flipping wrong for the Giants, making last year’s feel-good story feel like a mirage — was it truly even there?
They were outclassed (outscored by a combined 94-15 in three prime-time games) in their three losses and needed to come back from a 21-point second-half deficit to attain their lone victory, out in the Arizona desert.
These Giants, through the first month of the season, could not handle the heat, which is especially alarming for what awaits them Sunday, as the temperature will rise near 90 degrees and the humidity figures to reach oppressive levels as the Giants try to keep up with the high-flying Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
Frustration is not merely knocking on the Giants’ door.
It has infiltrated every nook and cranny of their house.
“I’d say frustration at the result,’’ opined tight end Darren Waller, who expressed more than a bit of it himself after his low-impact performance last week. “I don’t think there’s any frustration at people. It’s just the results of the way the season started. It’d be a little puzzling if guys weren’t frustrated, because it’s something that we’ve got to fix and turn around.
“You don’t turn it around all at once, you don’t get to .500 all at once, and things like that. It’s one day at a time, unfortunately, it’s a climb, and the change and the progress you’re going to see in the locker room before everybody else in the world sees it.’’
Thank goodness the Giants are not playing in prime time this week, as the lead-in those spectacles usually feature a promo comparing the two starting quarterbacks.
That would not go well for Daniel Jones.
The reeling Giants, sitting at 1-3, need more — and in some cases much, much more — from everyone, top (Daboll) to bottom (their shabby special teams).
They need to reverse their form, or else there will be three hours of Jones ducking and diving in the pocket, and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa calmly patting the ball before locating open targets.
Tagovailoa is second in the NFL in passer rating, behind only Brock Purdy of the 49ers.
Tagovailoa is first in passing yards (326.5 per game) and tied for third in touchdown passes (nine).
The only category in which Jones sits atop the league is interceptions — he is tied with Jimmy Garoppolo of the Raiders with six.
Jones is close to the top of the leaderboard in sacks with 22, behind only Sam Howell of the Commanders with 29.
And now, this: Can the often-pointless Giants offense (46 all season) harbor any hope of matching the output of the Dolphins (70 points in one game, two weeks ago on the Broncos)?
What the Dolphins put on the field looks like a different sport in comparison to the slop served up by a Giants offense that often fails in the basics of forming a pocket for Jones.
“I think every offensive player wants to be rolling and be top five in the league and having everybody think you’re really good, everybody wants to be there,’’ receiver Darius Slayton told The Post. “Sometimes it’s a linear path for some, and sometimes it’s a little bit of a rockier path for others. If we got to take the rocky path, that’s the path we’ve got to take.’’
The Giants at this point have no choice.
With the way they’ve played, there are roadblocks at all available routes and navigating around the congestion will not be easy.
“It’s the NFL … you never expect it to go this way,’’ said running back Saquon Barkley, who hopes to play after missing the past two games with a high ankle sprain. “Obviously, last year didn’t go this way. We had a hot start. We started the first quarter of the season 1-3, not where we want to be, but you’ve got to weather the storm.’’
