Cowboys give fans and media exactly what they wanted in win over Giants
I'm writing the intro to this recap at halftime: The Dallas Cowboys showed up in a must-show-up game against the New York Giants. They entered the game as 17-point favorites, the largest point spread of the NFL season yet, and left no doubt as to why. Giants' star running back Saquon Barkley had a rushing […]
I'm writing the intro to this recap at halftime: The Dallas Cowboys showed up in a must-show-up game against the New York Giants.
They entered the game as 17-point favorites, the largest point spread of the NFL season yet, and left no doubt as to why. Giants' star running back Saquon Barkley had a rushing yard to his name in seven attempts in the first half. New York was scoreless. Meanwhile, four different Cowboys had scored a touchdown.
In the second half, nothing changed, as Tommy DeVito was sacked twice in the first two plays of the third quarter. With a final score of 49-17, the Cowboys improved to 6-3.
It's a winners' day, so let's treat it as such. Here are the biggest winners of the game after four quarters.
But first, let me start with Brandin Cooks. After a week's worth of discourse about how the Cowboys needed to get Cooks involved, the team did exactly that. Earlier in the week, head coach Mike McCarthy clapped back at reporters when asked about the lack of involvement for the veteran the front office traded for in the offseason.
"When you throw for (374) yards and you got to come in here and answer questions about someone not getting the ball, I mean, come on, I don’t think that’s a real evaluation," McCarthy told reporters following the team's Week 9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Days later, McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott got the veteran wide receiver involved by targeting him 10 times. That was enough for nine grabs and 173 yards (most on the Cowboys), including a touchdown. He got involved early, recording five catches in the first half alone.
The best part? Cooks was involved in different ways, too. Dak Prescott found him downfield (his longest gain was for 37 yards) but also in short routes.
Other winners from Cowboys' dominant win:
- Dak Prescott: Despite an interception, Prescott delivered a big-time performance, spreading the football around and scoring five total touchdowns. Four different players caught a touchdown pass from Dak.
- CeeDee Lamb: I mean, what can you say about this kid that hasn't been said in a historic three-game run? He's elite. One of the best wide receivers in the NFL. This was his third consecutive game of 10 catches and 150 yards, a league record in the Super Bowl era. CeeDee stands alone.
- Michael Gallup: Man, he needed this game. Prescott found him for a 41-yard touchdown in a contested throw and he later logged another contested catch with Cooper Rush doing the passing.
- Rico Dowdle: In 12 carries, Dowdle averaged 6.6 yards per attempt. He sent a strong message: Feed No. 23.
- We could keep going, but let's keep it here for now. Oh, actually, let me shout out the rookie!
- Mazi Smith finally got his moment. The power has been flashed on tape before, but never for more than two tackles in a game. The first-round rookie got two in consecutive plays against the Giants near their end zone.
