Dallas Cowboys Team Grades: Cowboys Lose First Game Since Week 1 to Giants
Shawn Lealos
The Dallas Cowboys are 11-2, and while they will be heading to the NFL playoffs this season, they also have shown a weakness. Both Cowboys' losses this season came against the New York Giants. While the opening game of the season was lost thanks to a mistake by wide receiver Terrance Williams, this loss was a case of the Giants outplaying Dallas in New York. NY took the win, 10-7, and Dallas must wait longer to try to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Offense: C-
This loss to the New York Giants falls squarely on the shoulders of Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott. In the same week that Prescott started getting MVP attention, and in the same game where the announcers said he was one of the top Pro Bowl picks from fans, Prescott had his worst game of the season. He completed 17-of-37 passes (45.9 percent) for 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Most of his incompletions were poorly thrown passes. It was a very cold game in New York, and there was snow, but Prescott should've been able to turn things around this week.
Ezekiel Elliott was his normal self, running for 107 yards and 24 carries, but he never saw the end zone. The only Cowboys touchdown of the game came on blown coverage, and Terrance Williams scored that one. However, the Cowboys couldn't shake the Giants secondary for the rest of the game and looked overmatched the entire contest. Dez Bryant had only one catch for 10 yards.
Defense: A-
The only reason the Dallas Cowboys had a chance to win at the end was because of their defense, which has improved dramatically as the season has worn on. A team that couldn't touch quarterbacks in the first half of the season finished this game with three sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. Sean Lee and Cedric Thornton recovered the fumbles and rookie Anthony Brown grabbed the pick.
The Cowboys defense also held Odell Beckham Jr. in check for most of the game. He finished with four receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown, but had two key drops, and 61 of those yards came on one play – the touchdown. Rashad Jennings ran for 45 yards and Paul Perkins ran for 45 yards, but the Cowboys defense was dominating their side of the game with the exception of the third quarter touchdown.
Special Teams: C
Dan Bailey had only one field goal attempt and missed. That can't be blamed on him, though, as it was a 55-yard attempt in a breezy and cold Giants stadium. However, what really killed Dallas was the special teams return team. Two different Giants' punts fell inside the five for Dallas and the ball was downed there by the Giants, resulting in Dallas' tough starting position. Cole Beasley tried to return three punts and averaged one yard a return. Chris Jones had a nice punting game, but only put two of his nine punts inside the 20.
Coaching: B-
The Dallas Cowboys played a hard-fought game but they couldn't seem to do much against the New York Giants on offense. They tried to run the ball and were stopped on many plays; they tried to throw the ball but a struggling Dak Prescott couldn't hold it together. Their defense played well enough to win, but they couldn't score on offense. This was just a hard-fought game and the better team won.
Up Next: Things don't get easier for the Dallas Cowboys next week. In their second straight Sunday Night Football game, the Cowboys welcome the (8-5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Arlington in a game between two possible playoff teams. Dallas is already heading to the playoffs and the Buccaneers are tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the NFC South lead. Tampa Bay has won five straight games and will present Dallas with a huge test as the season rolls on.