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The Dallas Cowboys have officially lost their second game of the season. After losing in Week 1 against the New York Giants at home, the Cowboys rallied off 11 straight victories only to once again lose to the Giants in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
A lot was talked about with this game. Unlike the Cowboys, who have already clinched a berth to the playoffs, the Giants are fighting for their lives to get into the postseason. In primetime at home, this was the game for the Giants to put the rest of the NFL on notice. However, getting a victory against one of the best teams in football was going to be difficult as well.
The Giants elected to receive the opening kickoff, in an attempt to set the tone on offense. Three punts opened up the matchup. In the fourth drive, the Cowboys got the drive rolling after a nice mixture of run and pass. In New York territory, Dak Prescott faked a handoff to Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott rolled out and found Terrance Williams wide open for an easy touchdown.
New York responded with a long drive in the following possession, but the drive ended when Sean Lee forced an Eli Manning fumble, which was recovered by Cedric Thornton. On third down of the Cowboys drive, Prescott looked to Dez Bryant, but Bryant fell down, leading to an easy interception for Janoris Jenkins. Both teams punted on their next possessions.
Manning fumbled once again after being strip-sacked by Benson Mayowa. Lee made the fumble recovery. Despite having short field to score points, the Cowboys offense stalled, and they punted once again. The next four possessions were punts.
Dallas got the ball back with around a minute left before the half. Rather than opting to take a knee and head to halftime, the Cowboys displayed confidence in Prescott, dialing up plays for him to move the football down the field in hopes of scoring some more points before half.
Short passes led the Cowboys to get in field-goal range for Dan Bailey. After Prescott connected with Williams for an 18-yard gain, the Cowboys called a timeout and Bailey came on for a 55-yard field-goal attempt. In difficult weather and kicking a cold football, Bailey booted a perfect ball in the middle of the uprights. However, the ball did not have enough distance, and it boinked off the field-goal post.
Despite receiving the ball at half, the Cowboys failed to get anything going, resulting in another punt. Both teams traded punts, and the Giants, on their second possession of the game, finally got on the scoreboard after an 11-play, 35-yard drive that ended in Robbie Gould connecting a 39-yard attempt.
In response to the field goal, Prescott threw another interception, this one a bit more ill-advised, looking for Bryant down the field. On the second play of the Giants' following drive, Manning connected with Odell Beckham Jr. on a two-yard pass. However, Beckham Jr. took the ball the rest of the way for a touchdown, giving the Giants their first lead of the game. The Cowboys' next four offensive drives resulted in this: punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs.
Dallas was given the opportunity twice to tie up the game after Manning and company failed to pick up a first down. With about one minute to go, Prescott and the offense needed about 60 yards to get into field-goal range for Bailey to tie it up. The first play of the drive was a pass intended for Jason Witten that sailed north. The second play of the drive was incomplete for Lance Dunbar. The third play of the drive was batted down by Devon Kennard.
On fourth down, Prescott looked for Bryant. In what was excellent coverage, Jenkins broke up the ball just enough for the football to hit the ground. Initially ruled as a catch on the field, the play was reviewed, and the catch was incomplete. Just like that, the Giants picked up their second victory over the divisional foe, and the Cowboys dropped their first loss in just over 90 days.
Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' second loss of the season.
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A lot was talked about with this game. Unlike the Cowboys, who have already clinched a berth to the playoffs, the Giants are fighting for their lives to get into the postseason. In primetime at home, this was the game for the Giants to put the rest of the NFL on notice. However, getting a victory against one of the best teams in football was going to be difficult as well.
The Giants elected to receive the opening kickoff, in an attempt to set the tone on offense. Three punts opened up the matchup. In the fourth drive, the Cowboys got the drive rolling after a nice mixture of run and pass. In New York territory, Dak Prescott faked a handoff to Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott rolled out and found Terrance Williams wide open for an easy touchdown.
New York responded with a long drive in the following possession, but the drive ended when Sean Lee forced an Eli Manning fumble, which was recovered by Cedric Thornton. On third down of the Cowboys drive, Prescott looked to Dez Bryant, but Bryant fell down, leading to an easy interception for Janoris Jenkins. Both teams punted on their next possessions.
Manning fumbled once again after being strip-sacked by Benson Mayowa. Lee made the fumble recovery. Despite having short field to score points, the Cowboys offense stalled, and they punted once again. The next four possessions were punts.
Dallas got the ball back with around a minute left before the half. Rather than opting to take a knee and head to halftime, the Cowboys displayed confidence in Prescott, dialing up plays for him to move the football down the field in hopes of scoring some more points before half.
Short passes led the Cowboys to get in field-goal range for Dan Bailey. After Prescott connected with Williams for an 18-yard gain, the Cowboys called a timeout and Bailey came on for a 55-yard field-goal attempt. In difficult weather and kicking a cold football, Bailey booted a perfect ball in the middle of the uprights. However, the ball did not have enough distance, and it boinked off the field-goal post.
Despite receiving the ball at half, the Cowboys failed to get anything going, resulting in another punt. Both teams traded punts, and the Giants, on their second possession of the game, finally got on the scoreboard after an 11-play, 35-yard drive that ended in Robbie Gould connecting a 39-yard attempt.
In response to the field goal, Prescott threw another interception, this one a bit more ill-advised, looking for Bryant down the field. On the second play of the Giants' following drive, Manning connected with Odell Beckham Jr. on a two-yard pass. However, Beckham Jr. took the ball the rest of the way for a touchdown, giving the Giants their first lead of the game. The Cowboys' next four offensive drives resulted in this: punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs.
Dallas was given the opportunity twice to tie up the game after Manning and company failed to pick up a first down. With about one minute to go, Prescott and the offense needed about 60 yards to get into field-goal range for Bailey to tie it up. The first play of the drive was a pass intended for Jason Witten that sailed north. The second play of the drive was incomplete for Lance Dunbar. The third play of the drive was batted down by Devon Kennard.
On fourth down, Prescott looked for Bryant. In what was excellent coverage, Jenkins broke up the ball just enough for the football to hit the ground. Initially ruled as a catch on the field, the play was reviewed, and the catch was incomplete. Just like that, the Giants picked up their second victory over the divisional foe, and the Cowboys dropped their first loss in just over 90 days.
Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' second loss of the season.
Begin Slideshow
Continue reading...