Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys ended their two-game skid with a 20-15 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night. It wasn’t a pretty game as the G-men kept things close all evening, but the Cowboys did just enough to leave Metlife with a victory. The offense was so-so, the defense was so-so, and even that Brandon Aubrey fella was, so-so. Here are 10 thoughts on the Cowboys so-so win over the Giants on Thursday night.

1. Shutting down the running game

All eyes were on the Cowboys’ run defense in this one. After giving up 464 rushing yards the past two games, the defense delivered one for the ages, or at least for the last five years. Against the Giants, the Cowboys allowed just 26 total rushing yards. Devin Singletary only had 24 yards on 14 carries, and they shut down Daniel Jones’ legs giving up just three yards on four rushing attempts. The Giants only averaged 1.1 yards per carry. In a shocking twist, the Cowboys’ defense allowed the fewest rushing yards in the Mike McCarthy era. We did not see that coming.

2. Lucky 13

The Cowboys’ success against the run was a group effort. Defenders showed a lot more discipline and stuck with their assignments. They also did a much better job wrapping up. One guy who was tackling everything was DeMarvion Overshown. After a great NFL debut, Overshown has been rather quiet the last two games, but he made his presence felt in this one. The second-year linebacker balled out on Thursday night. He finished the game with nine tackles, six solo, and had a nice pass breakup. He was DeMarvion Allovertheplace.

3. Speaking of Lucky 13

The Giants always seem to be there when the Cowboys need a pick-me-up. The Cowboys have won 14 of their last 15 games against the Giants. It’s even more impressive for Dak Prescott. After losing both games against the Giants during his rookie season in 2016, Prescott has now won 13 straight against them. That’s some ownage right there.

4. Out of the end zone

When you look at everything, the Cowboys defense did okay. They couldn’t muster up much pressure on Daniel Jones, didn’t create any turnovers, and struggled to get stops on third down. And when they did get stops on third down, they couldn’t get off the field on fourth down. The Giants didn’t punt until three minutes left in the third quarter. While the Giants did have success moving the ball, they couldn’t find the end zone. All New York had to show for was five Greg Joseph field goals. The Cowboys defense was the definition of bend but don’t break on Thursday night.

5. Corners dropping like flies

The team has been without All-Pro corner DaRon Bland all season and this week rookie corner Caelen Carson was inactive with a shoulder injury he suffered in practice this past week. If that wasn’t bad enough, they lost Trevon Diggs for part of the game when he started cramping up. The team cycled through their depth, first with Andrew Booth, which the team had a short leash on and was pulled early. He was replaced by Amani Oruwariye. And then when Diggs came out, they had to resort to Israel Mukuamu seeing some action. It looked bleak there for a while, but props to the depth guys for stepping up. Oruwariye, who was a practice squad call up, made the game-cinching interception.

6. Rough night for the All-Pros

Speaking of injuries, DeMarcus Lawrence came out of the game and went into the locker room with a foot injury. Trevon Diggs went back to the locker room to be treated for dehydration. Zack Martin came out of the game for a few plays to get his eye flushed out. And Micah Parsons went back to the locker room on a cart with a foot injury. The good news is Diggs and Martin returned, but it’s unclear the extent of the team’s top edge rushers. Stay tuned.

7. The fumbles that weren’t

The Cowboys got a pick to ice the game, but before that, there were no turnovers in this one. However, there were almost a few. Three times the Giants came close to turning the ball over. First, Singletary fumbled the ball but was ruled down by the officials. Mike McCarthy challenged the play, but it was upheld. The Cowboys scooped up another fumble and ran down the field, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass. And when the Giants did actually fumble on a kickoff return, it bounced right into the arms of another Giants player. The Cowboys were close to getting some big-moment turnovers but came up empty most of the night.

8. It’s laundry day!

It’s hard to watch this team keep shooting themselves in the foot with stupid penalties. It doesn’t matter if it was on offense or defense, the Cowboys let the laundry pile up, committing penalty after penalty. Tyler Guyton couldn’t pass protect without holding and the defensive line couldn’t resist jumping offsides. Dallas finished the game with 11 penalties for 89 years, but nine (70 yards) came in just the first half alone. That’s pitiful. We don’t know why it has to be that way, but it’s an issue that has plagued McCarthy’s team for most of his time in Dallas.

9. Aubrey kept things interesting

Brandon Aubrey has been automatic this year. He made his first 12 field goals of the season and has been right down the middle on almost every play. So, naturally when he misses his first field goal of the year, it gave the Giants one last chance to win the game. Fortunately, it was moot as the Cowboys’ defense made one final stop.

10. Nabers will be a problem for many years to come

It felt like the Cowboys did a good job stopping the Giants’ number one offensive weapon, Malik Nabers, but the stat sheet will tell you something different. The rookie receiver finished the game with 12 receptions for 115 yards. Fortunately, all of that came in a losing effort, but it’s pretty clear he’s going to be a thorn in the Cowboys’ side for many years to come.