Why did rookie Darius Slayton take the ball out of the end zone with 2:13 remaining in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, with the Giants trailing by six points and out of timeouts?

“[Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey] pretty much just gave me the option, stay in or bring it out,’’ Slayton told The Post. “Felt like I had a chance to bring it out and get a solid return, just didn’t quite pan out that way.’’

No, it did not pan out that way.

Slayton fielded the ball 1-yard deep in the end zone, got little traction on his return and was dropped on the 12-yard line. The return used up 11 seconds and gave the Giants 2:02 to work with. Had he stayed in the end zone, the Giants would have had the ball on their 25 with 2:13 left.

Coach Pat Shurmur afterward said he thought Slayton made a good decision.

“He’s done a good job with the opportunities he’s gotten, and there was a chance for him to make a big play and score a touchdown from a yard in,” Shurmur said. “I was OK with it.’’

Slayton has “done a good job with the opportunities he’s gotten?” Before this game, Slayton did not have a kickoff return in an NFL regular-season game. He was back there only because another rookie, Corey Ballentine, is in the concussion protocol. Slayton did have a 30-yard return earlier in the game.

A day later, Shurmur insisted he wanted to see Slayton try to return the kickoff.

“I do believe in the players and their ability to make a play,’’ Shurmur said. “If that was way deep in the end zone, then absolutely, we stay in. Had he run it back for a touchdown, we’d all be talking about something else right now.’’

Shurmur said Saquon Barkley was “a little sore, what you might expect for a first game back,’’ but otherwise got through the game fine.

It looked as if WR Golden Tate failed to make a play on Daniel Jones’ first pass of the game, avoiding what would have been a big hit.

Tate on Monday said, “I have tunnel vision so I don’t know, I don’t remember’’ when asked about the play. Shurmur said, “That was tight, that was a hole coverage and the hole player was there. We have to be better at throwing and catching that, both sides of it.’’

The eight sacks of Jones was the most allowed by the Giants in nearly five years. Eli Manning (six) and Ryan Nassib (two) were sacked a combined eight time in a 27-0 loss to the Eagles on Philadelphia Oct. 12, 2014. The last time a Giants quarterback was sacked eight times was Dec. 14, 2008, when the Cowboys did it to Manning in a 20-8 Giants loss in Dallas.

For more on the Giants’ Week 7 loss to the Cardinals, listen to this episode of the Giants podcast, “Blue Rush”: