How the Dallas Cowboys escaped upset, beat New York Giants on Thursday night
For the first time in franchise history, the Dallas Cowboys played a road game on just four days of rest and came away with a 20-15 victory against the New York Giants.
The defense took on criticism after back-to-back horrendous performances in defending the run, but the unit responded by allowing just 26 rushing yards and 1.1 yards per carry. Offensively, Dak Prescott got going early and often and finished with a strong line of 22-of-27 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
As the Cowboys improved to 2-2, here are the five takeaways from the team’s rebound win. The Giants dropped to 1-3.
The offense moves when CeeDee Lamb moves
The production came early and often for CeeDee Lamb on Thursday night, as he used a 55-yard touchdown in the first quarter to build confidence for a first half that included six receptions for 94 yards. In the second half, he was quieted once again and the team’s offense (six points, zero touchdowns) reflected the silence.
“It comes from within,” Lamb said about his mentality to take over for an offense. “I have a mentality that I can carry the load. That’s always been me since the first time I stepped on the field. If they’re going to give me one-on-one, I personally feel like that’s disrespectful but I would love it. It’s a testament to myself and my abilities.”
In the combined four second halves of games this season, Lamb has just three receptions for 16 yards. It’s no coincidence that the Cowboys have combined for just 41 points in those halves compared to 56 points in the first half of games.
The defense needs DaRon Bland back
The problem of not having DaRon Bland was amplified on Thursday night for the Cowboys by also being down Caelen Carson, who missed the first game of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury. In his place, newly acquired cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. was attacked early by a double-move route by Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers that turned into a 39-yard gain.
Booth’s first half performance got him benched in place of practice squad elevation Amani Oruwariye in the second half, and he was immediately targeted on the Giants’ first two pass plays. Not having a reliable outside corner didn’t burn Dallas as much as it could have on Thursday night, but it was more evident than ever in this young season that the defense needs Bland’s services back.
He will be eligible to return to practice as early as Monday after serving four weeks on the injured reserve list with a foot injury.
Overshown, Mazi Smith respond with solid outings
The last two weeks against the Saints and Ravens drew horrid reviews for the Cowboys run defense, and DeMarvion Overshown and Mazi Smith were two of the players in the negative spotlight after their performance against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
However, both responded on Thursday night with arguably the best games of their respective careers. Smith was active in resetting the line of scrimmage at the snap and generating push in the run game.
“I can go into the weekend stress-free,” Smith said with a laugh. “I can come back and reset and get ready to work. Just try to carry it over into the next week...We had to get out there and play as one cohesive unit. We went out there and we did that.”
Overshown was flying sideline-to-sideline with athletic tackles on ball-carriers and impactful plays in the pass game as well. If both can build off Thursday night’s performance, there may be hope for the 2023 draft class after all.
The struggles of Tyler Guyton
I’ll maintain that drafting a tackle with Tyler Guyton’s physical skillset at 6-foot-7, 322 pounds in the first round was the correct choice, even if he entered the NFL with only 14 career starts.
You take the ups with the downs, and you build that tackle to your likening. We’ve seen the ups with strong performances against Maxx Crosby in the preseason and a week one outing that saw him hold his own against Myles Garrett. On Thursday night, we saw the downs.
Two penalties and multiple sacks given up that put thorns in the side of offensive momentum. He will need to rebound quickly with a matchup against a physical and productive Pittsburgh defensive line next week.
The win came at a critical time
The Dallas Cowboys were at a fork in the road coming into this game. A win, and they get the momentum and confidence needed to enter a gauntlet run in their 2024 schedule in the upcoming weeks.
A loss, and we could see the tensions and emotions starting to snowball. While it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, the Cowboys got back in the win column after a nightmare pair of weeks to go into Pittsburgh next week riding a high.
“It’s really big,” cornerback Trevon Diggs said. “It’s time for us to get things rolling. We’re starting to get things rolling...I feel like everyone’s mind is in the right place. We’re heading in the right direction.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 10:22 PM.
