Another nail-biter on Thursday night football as the Cowboys (2-2) got the win on the road 20-15 over their division rival the New York Giants (1-3). After two weeks of drama surrounding the Cowboys, their offense came out firing with Dak throwing 2 touchdown passes and CeeDee Lamb adding a 55-yard touchdown catch. The Giants offense did not back down as they moved the ball well for the majority of the night. Ultimately the Cowboys defense on their side of the field locked things up, holding the Giants to 5 field goals. Let’s take a look at some initial reactions from the game.
Dak’s Dominance Against the NFC East
Dak has now increased his record against the Giants to 13-2 and his record against NFC East teams improved to 33-8 in his career. Last night his 220 passing yards and 2 touchdowns resulted in him earning the highest-graded offensive player according to PFF. Among the top 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, Dak is now tied for 1st in wins in that group. The Cowboys were smart for giving Dak that contract due to his durability and consistency throughout his career. Without a surplus of weapons, he will need to continue to play at a high level if the Cowboys want to make a deep playoff run.
The Giants Passing Game
I walked away impressed with what the Giants passing game displayed last night. Rookie WR Malik Nabers is special. We have seen him win against defenders on every level of the defense which is rare to see from a rookie receiver. On the season he now has 35 catches for 386 yards and 3 touchdowns establishing himself as one of the best in the game. Wan’Dale Robinson has also been impressive in the intermediate passing game. He now as 26 catches on the season and the duo of Robinson / Nabers could be a special one long-term.
Outside of the two young receivers they have, Daniel Jones had a solid game last night as well. He finished with a season-high PFF grade of 80.9 last night and made some impressive throws last night. His performance will get overshadowed by his now 1-12 record in primetime games in his career. If he continues to play like he has to start this season he could turn some heads by the end of the year.
The Cowboys Rush Defense
After entering last night’s game as the worst-ranked defense against the run, the Cowboys defense stepped up last night. They limited the Giants to 1.1 yards per carry and forced their offense to become one-dimensional. Both Mazi Smith and DeMarvion Overshown finished with PFF grades under 40 in last week’s loss. This week they dictated the game both finishing with grades above 77. These guys’ consistency will be a key in improving the Cowboys run defense throughout the season.
Questionable Play Calling
Brian Dabol and Mike McCarthy called good games last night but situationally they both left me scratching my head on a few occasions. Dabol’s team had 11 more minutes of possession time and wound up settling for 5 field goals on the night. 2 of these field goals were in the red zone, the lack of aggression cost the Giants last night.
McCarthy could have run the ball at will last night but is stubborn with throwing the ball at a high clip. The combination of Dowdle, Elliott, and Luepke were all averaging over 4 yards per carry before they were in obvious run situations to run down the clock. The running game needs to get going to help take some of the pressure off of Dak.
Injury Concerns
Both Micah Parsons and Malik Nabers left this game early due to injuries. Parsons appears to be more serious as he was carted off the field with a high ankle sprain. A high ankle sprain for an EDGE defender typically takes multiple weeks to heal which ultimately could make him an IR candidate. Nabers suffered a concussion and was quickly ruled out on the Giants failed 4th down conversion. His availability for next week will be a toss-up to see if he can clear concussion protocol in time with the extra days of rest.
Future Outlook
The Cowboys road to the playoffs does not get any easier with the Steelers and the Lions before their bye week. With the injury to Micah Parsons, the defense looks concerning going forward adding more pressure to the Cowboys offense. The offense is going to need to do a better job of controlling the time of possession to prevent other teams from getting more possessions against a depleted defense.
On the Giants side of things, it will be interesting to see if we continue to get this play out of Daniel Jones. Jones and the passing game have looked sharp the last three weeks now. On defense, their trio of Burns, Lawrence, and Thibodeaux was quiet in the loss. They should be in store for a big week against a bad Seahawks o-line.
Cowboys Upcoming Schedule
Cowboys (2-2) @ Steelers (3-0) 8:20 EST
Lions (2-1) @ Cowboys (2-2) 4:25 EST
BYE WEEK
Giants Upcoming Schedule
Giants (1-3) @ Seahawks (3-0) 4:25 EST
Bengals (0-3) @ Giants (1-3) 8:20 EST
Eagles (2-1) @ Giants (1-3) 1:00 EST