3 huge positives from Cowboys' underwhelming win over the Giants on TNF
The Dallas Cowboys won a rough short week matchup against the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. The final scoreboard read Cowboys 20, Giants 15, but the win itself was somewhat underwhelming as they struggled to put New York away. The reality is it was a close game between two flawed squads that have some […]
The Dallas Cowboys won a rough short week matchup against the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football.
The final scoreboard read Cowboys 20, Giants 15, but the win itself was somewhat underwhelming as they struggled to put New York away. The reality is it was a close game between two flawed squads that have some decisions to make.
However, there were some big positives and that's what we're discussing today. Let's start with the highly promising game from a second-year player that has mostly struggled so far in the NFL.
1. Mazi Smith dominated
The Cowboys' former first-round draft pick desperately needed a game like last night's. Smith was consistently beating Giants center John Michael-Schmitz and penetrating into the backfield, collapsing pockets and breaking the opponents' attempts at running the ball.
Overall, Smith had success against the entire Giants interior offensive line. It was a very large reason why the opponent averaged a mediocre 1.1 yards per attempt. In the game, Smith showed better use of hands and an improved ability to get off blocks.
Smith only had three combined tackles, one for a loss, but he set the tone up front and freed up linebackers to make plays, something that had been severely lacking three weeks into the season. If Mazi keeps this up, the defense is set to look much better against the run.
2. CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott clicked again
Perhaps not the biggest surprise, but it was a good sign to see these two on the same page after what happened against the Baltimore Ravens. Since early in the game, Prescott made sure to exploit Lamb against a banged up Giants secondary.
By the end of it, Lamb had eight catches for 98 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown. The Cowboys receiver also added eight yards rushing in three attempts.
3. DeMarvion Overshown looked unstoppable
Overshown missed three tackles in Week 3 but made sure to not repeat that mistake against the Giants, logging eight tackles, many of which were absolutely impressive.
The second-year linebacker was flying all over the field on Thursday Night Football, delivering good fundamental tackles when needed and being a high velocity missile when the situation called for it.
Perhaps his most impressive play came in a high-leverage situation, as on third and goal, Overshown came up with a big play, tackling Wan'Dale Robinson in the open field as he teleported to the flat to keep the Giants out of the end zone.
A former safety in college, Overshown was able to stop even Giants WR Malik Nabers more than once.
