With their starting quarterback only having had one day to prepare, this game was always going to be a tall order for a Giants team that had been consistently dominated by the Cowboys in recent times. Dallas entered the game having won 14 of the past 15 meetings between these teams. Although this is a weaker Cowboys team than we’ve seen in recent years, the Giants were only really able to keep it competitive until halftime.
The Giants took an early 7-3 lead on Tyrone Tracy’s 1-yard touchdown run but trailed 13-10 at halftime despite the fact that their defense didn’t give up a touchdown. Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown intercepted a Drew Lock pass and returned it 23 yards for the only Dallas touchdown in the second quarter.
Dallas extended their lead to 20-10 on a Cooper Rush touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks as they cashed in on a Lock fumble at the start of the second half. That lead then ballooned to 27-10 when Rico Dowdle rushed for a short touchdown on the next Cowboys’ drive.
New York tried to make things interesting with a field goal and a Lock touchdown scramble to cut it to 27-20 with 2:18 remaining but Cooks’ spectacular diving catch on third down enabled Dallas to run out the clock.
To make matters worse, the Giants lost star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence to an elbow injury, so news on his status will be eagerly anticipated over the few days. There could also be other changes to follow in response to this loss.
Here are the key takeaways…
– Lock’s first start as a Giant was going quite well into the second quarter. He had engineered New York’s first opening-drive touchdown since Week 2 and it had its first lead since early October. However, things unraveled from there as he tried to dump it to Devin Singletary in the flat and Overshown batted it into the air and picked it off for the go-ahead touchdown return. After this, Lock struggled to settle down and had just 55 passing yards at the half.
– Tracy was relegated to the backup role this week, in response to his fumbles over the past two weeks, although he still had a fourth-down conversion and the touchdown on the Giants’ opening drive. Singletary was underwhelming in the starting role and Tracy got most of the touches after halftime.
– The Giants unsurprisingly made a point of getting Malik Nabers involved in the first half, after he had expressed frustration with not being involved in the first half of the previous game. He caught a pass on the Giants’ third play of the game and touched the ball three times on the opening drive. He had five catches by halftime, but also dropped two. In the second half, he had a big play called back due to a penalty and ended up with eight catches for 69 yards.
– Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb also had issues with drops in the first half, as he had three of them. One rebounded right to Bobby Okereke who had a chance to record New York’s first interception since the opener, but he didn’t react in time. Lamb, who is banged-up, didn’t play in the second half. Dallas’ main weapon was Dowdle, who had the first 100-yard game of his career.
– The Giants let themselves down with poor tackling, as they were into double-figures for missed tackles by the midway point of the second quarter. They also had a season-high 14 penalties and allowed Lock to be sacked six times.
– Kayvon Thibodeaux has struggled to emulate his 2023 season, and it was a frustrating first half for him as he jumped offside twice and was called for roughing the passer. He did record a couple of quarterback hits, though.
– After having held up reasonably well in his first two starts of the season, Evan Neal had his hands full with Micah Parsons this week. Parsons beat Neal handily multiple times, including on an inside move for a third down sack in the second half. This was undoubtedly a setback for Neal, but it will be interesting to see how he responds.
– The Giants’ special teams units deserve some credit for keeping dynamic return man KaVontae Turpin in check. The kicking game was excellent with Graham Gano and Jamie Gillan keeping the ball away from him and Art Green and Bryce Ford-Wheaton making good plays in kick coverage. Ihmir Smith-Marsette also had a spectacular punt return to set up a field goal and Matthew Adams recovered a fumble as multiple Giants made good contributions in this area
What’s next
The Giants are back in action 10 days from now when they host the New Orleans Saints next Sunday, Dec. 8, at 1 p.m.
