It was a must-win game for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, and it definitely felt like it -- en route to Big Blue taking the win with a hard-earned 23-19 final score. The emotions were boiling over at MetLife Stadium, with linebacker Jaylon Smith and cornerback Jourdan Lewis both involved in altercations in the first half. The latter was easily a dirty and unnecessary hit that cost the Cowboys 15 yards on a key drive, but they were able to force the Giants off the field and keep their deficit at just three points.
It was Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett drawing first blood with a six-play, 78-yard drive punctuated with a touchdown carry by wideout Sterling Shepard. Meanwhile, the Cowboys landed their 11th takeaway in the last three games with running back Wayne Gallman, Jr. lost a fumble to cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, but Andy Dalton and a continually stalled offense failed to make them pay with a touchdown. Instead, it was a field goal by Greg Zuerlein that put them on the board, in a game that now saw both teams struggle to produce points for long stretches of time.
The Giants added a second touchdown from Shepard in the second quarter and then their third by way of Dante Pettis just ahead of halftime, applying more pressure to the uneven Cowboys, who came out looking much better on offense after a stalled first possession to open the second half. From there, it truly became much more of a back alley brawl, with the Giants sacking Dalton a total of six times on the day while the Cowboys defense gave Jones and Co. a hard time by stealing two takeaways.
In a game that turned out to be as wild as the season for both teams, Dalton threw a backbreaking interception late in the fourth quarter that was nearly deleted by Gallman's second fumble of the game, but a controversial officiating discussion led to the Giants retaining possession -- in what will be a highly discussed play for the entire offseason.
Why the Giants won
Pressure, pressure and more pressure.
Dalton was manhandled for much of the game, the aforementioned six sacks telling just one part of the story. The Giants hit him a total of nine times and hurried him a whole lot more and, at times, it looked as if Dalton was fearing pressure that wasn't actually there thanks to the myriad of occurrences in which it was. Defensive end Leonard Williams teed off on the veteran quarterback, garnering five QB hits and three sacks on his own, with New York moving him around on the d-line to keep the beleaguered Cowboys offensive line guessing. From there, the rest of the defense simply flew around and made plays, with both Blake Martinez and rookie seventh-round pick Tae Crowder delivering a team-high 11 combined tackles.
With the defense firing on all cylinders, they needed Jones to simply play efficient football and eliminate or minimize the giveaways, and he did just that. Helped by a three-touchdown first half, Jones got help by way of a big game from Shepard, as well as Dante Pettis, although the latter will forever be tied to a controversial and game-changing 10-yard catch (more on that below). It just felt like the Giants wanted this victory more than the Cowboys, and so they took it, preventing the season sweep and staying alive in the playoff hunt -- if only for a few more hours.
In a crazy NFC East ride this season, the Giants found a way to break three-game losing streak with defense being their nuclear weapon.
Why the Cowboys lost
With so much on the line, the Cowboys played like it was a shirts vs. skins scrimmage at the local YMCA.
Sure, they played better in the third quarter and much of the fourth, but the damage had already been done and, in the end, they loaded the pistol and fired several more shots into their foot to ensure their season would end. From an utter lack of discipline to start the game -- e.g., the mindless penalty by Lewis -- to an inability to much of anything in the first half on offense, the team that rattled off three straight wins to put themselves in position to potentially sneak away with the NFC East crown was nowhere to be found on Sunday. Dalton was as rattled as a pair of maracas, leading an offensive unit that mustered only 29 net yards with a zero percent conversion rate on five third down attempts heading into the middle of the second quarter.
They'd finish the game having converted only six of 17 third down attempts, and 12 of their 19 points came off of the leg of Greg Zuerlein. Matters were made worse by weird decisions from head coach Mike McCarthy who, following the one and only touchdown on the day, opted to kick a PAT instead of attempting a two-point conversion that would've cut the Giants lead to three points, and then came the decision to not challenge the late-game catch by Pettis -- one that led to the Giants gaining a four-point lead that forced the game onto Dalton and not a well-performing Zuerlein.
It ended in disaster which, the three-game win streak notwithstanding, is exactly what the 2020 season was for the Cowboys.
Turning Point
This is yet another play that will haunt the Cowboys as an organization, from here until the Earth ends. Clutching a one-point lead, the Giants were near stalling on a key drive when Jones found Pettis for what was deemed a completion. The problem is, it's unclear if it actually was one, even to the eyes in the broadcasting booth. McCarthy opted to not risk a challenge in an attempt to overturn it and keep the Giants out of field goal range.
A 50-yard field goal by Graham Gano immediately afterwards gave the Giants a four-point lead, and took the game off of the leg of kicker Greg Zuerlein -- who was batting 1.000 on the day.
Play of the Game
Dalton was sacked six times in the game, and not all of it was attributable to the offensive line issues, and the Giants ability to rattle him was on full display at several points in the game. It was rookie second-round pick Xavier McKinney who'd end his season, and potentially his stint with the Cowboys -- hauling in an interception in the end zone with only a minute and 24 seconds remaining in regulation.
Game. Set. Match.
A season-ending decision
As for the aforementioned non-challenge by Dallas, one that put the Cowboys in a position wherein they had to score a touchdown to take the lead, McCarthy offered an explanation after the game.
"We just felt like it was too close. We felt it was a bang-bang type of situation. The three timeouts were obviously of high value there." - Mike McCarthy to media via Zoom
What's next
For the Cowboys? The offseason. For the Giants, it's all about pinning hopes on the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Washington Football Team on Sunday night.
Be sure to catch up on all the action you might've missed in the live blog below.
"score" - Google News
January 04, 2021 at 05:33AM
https://ift.tt/2LeZRdl
Cowboys at Giants score: Andy Dalton throws backbreaking INT to knock Dallas out of playoff contention - CBSSports.com
"score" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2OdbIHo
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Cowboys at Giants score: Andy Dalton throws backbreaking INT to knock Dallas out of playoff contention - CBSSports.com"
Post a Comment