Cowboys Breeze Past Giants as Offensive Woes Continue
The Dallas Cowboys went on to defeat the New York Giants in MetLife with yet another amazing defensive performance and another mediocre offensive performance.
The game started with the Cowboys moving the ball easily but was ended with a crucial penalty that killed the drive and forced the cowboys to punt. Dak looked good early game, he was climbing the pocket and was accurate for the most of the game. Ceedee Lamb’s drops really took a hit on the Cowboys offensive momentum. He accounted for a few dropped on the day, one came on a third down, and another came on a screen pass which has been a common theme for Lamb all year. These 3 incompletions weighed Dak Prescott’s stat total down slightly.
Zeke Elliott looked good and had a great run on a delayed hand off that resulted in a touchdown in the redzone. Tony Pollard’s presence was missed, and he had a phenomenal game coming off a torn plantar fascia in his left foot. The injury did not seem to affect his play which is great for the Cowboys and their run game. Dalton Schultz shined in the passing game but struggles immensely when it comes to run blocking. Kellen Moore had a questionable play call with 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, he called a run play on a 3rd and 7 that would force the Cowboys to settle for a field goal. This call would only be acceptable if you were determined to go for it on 4th down but that was not the case. Mike McCarthy struggled with time management the final possession of the 2nd quarter. Dak Prescott completed a pass to Dalton Schultz to put them at the Giants 9 yard line, there was 9 seconds remaining before halftime and Mike McCarthy did not call a timeout until there was 3 seconds left on the clock. If McCarthy called a timeout this could’ve gave the Cowboys a single shot at the endzone, instead they settled for another field goal. Greg Zuerlein is also concerning, he did not miss a field goal, however, he did miss two extra points. Overall, the offense seemed to struggle at times and was very boring.
The Dallas defense did not skip a beat, they generated 4 turnovers for the 3rd game in a row and the 4th time on the season. Micah Parsons had a silent game but showed amazing instincts early when he got a pass defection covering Kenny Gollaway off a pick concept in the redzone. Overall, the Cowboys front did not generate much pressure mainly because of the Giants game plan of quick passes and run plays. Demarcus Lawrence played great, specifically stopping the Giants run. Trevon Diggs also recorded his 10th interception on the season, he is now 1 interception away from the franchise record.
Diggs 10th INT covering Kenny Golladay
Look for the Cowboys defense to continue this elite play the final stretch of the season and look for Dak Prescott and the offense to get back on track when they face the Washington Football Team at home in Arlington, Texas.