NFL
Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Recap
The Giants’ Woeful Performance
Eli Manning. For those of you who saw the game, its hard to explain the performance that this veteran QB had. Or should I say the lack of performance he showed us, as it was quite pitiful to watch. Not only was Eli disappointing, but his surrounding corps were as well. The Cowboys D absolutely tortured Eli and his O-line all game. This resulted in a game full of the Giants QB getting constantly ravaged by the opposition in the backfield.
You would think that the offseason acquisitions of Nate Solder, Patrick Omameh, and 2nd round pick Will Hernandez would pick up the slack on that offensive line and give Eli some time in the pocket. But this definitely wasn’t the case last night. New York failed to neutralize the pressure being thrown at them by Dallas nearly all game.
Dallas was ruthless on defense, throwing in blitz package after blitz package at the 37 year old quarterback and his newly mended offensive line. It completely broke the Giants offensive rhythm, especially off of the slot corner blitz that kept going unnoticed by each offensive tackle and Barkley alike. I imagine that it was hard to watch from the perspective of a Giants fan, being that the Giants could get nothing going on offense the entire game.
The one bright, or should I say “dim” spot of the Giants offense was rookie RB Saquon Barkley. Despite a terrible performance from his counterparts, Barkley still managed to tally up 108 yards from scrimmage. The Penn St. product did it on 11 rushes and 14 receptions for the night. TE Evan Engram also had a modest performance, hauling in six balls for 59 yards and a touchdown. However, Eli and Co. failed to convert a touchdown on the drives that truly mattered in this game, and it showed.
Dallas’ Improving Attack
While Dallas’ defensive line and secondary proved to be stout this game, they got it going on offense the best we’ve seen this season so far. Dak rushed for a career high 45 yards while also making plays in the passing game. Their prized RB, Ezekiel Elliot, played a large part in the Cowboy victory as well. He ended up logging 78 rushing yards and a touchdown on an extremely tough Giants D-Line.
The first score of the game was an electric 64-yard bomb from Dak Prescott o Dallas’ new speedster acquisition, Tavon Austin. It was a minute into the game, and had to take the wind out the sails of the Giants. And an accurate but fairly rare long ball dot from Dak to Tavon Austin was a good sign from the Cowboys offense as well.
James Bettcher was hired as Head Defensive Coordinator this offseason for the Giants. Based on that performance, this already looks like a wasted move. His defense failed to sack Prescott a single time and let Dallas rush all over them. Ezekiel Elliot averaged almost 6 yards per carry on the game while Dak added another 46 yards rushing on the ground.
In conclusion, the New York Giants were completely shut down by this Dallas defense. The Cowboys’ linebacker and secondary play was exceptional, limiting New York’s playmakers while also providing constant pressure on Eli. The gameplay was much more lopsided than the scoreline, which ended up being 20-13.
Dallas’ offense also looked nice, as they succeeded in moving the chains and maintaining possession. The Giants D failed to hinder their dominant ground game, as well as the sneaky passing game that Prescott showcased.
Next Week…
The Giants are now (0-2), and unfortunately already trending in a direction similar to last season. They face the Houston Texans (0-2), next week and look to pick up their first win of the season. Dallas head to Seattle next week after picking up their first win of the season. They look to maintain their recent success against a solid Seahawk squad that has yet to pick up their first victory.
Photo credit to Shutterbug459 via Flickr
