Blogging The Boys
Despite being favored over the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys were given all they could handle on Sunday. Looking to avoid an 0-2 start, both teams were desperate to secure a win and avoid dropping their first two NFC East games. Russell Wilson had a vintage performance, throwing for 450 yards to keep the Giants in the game during a back-and-forth shootout with Dallas. However, the Cowboys’ star players answered the call time and time again to get the thrilling win at home. The win gives Brian Schottenheimer his first as an NFL head coach in storybook fashion. Here are four stars for the Cowboys, and they were all on offense/special teams. We won’t speak about that defense.
It was a slow start for Dak Prescott and the offense because New York held the ball for so long on the opening drive. New York’s opening drive lasted 15 plays and almost took nine minutes off the clock. When New York got a 6-0 lead, Dallas had run just three offensive plays to New York’s 22. Needing to shake the cobwebs, the offense stagnated to start the game. Yet, things started to turn a corner when Prescott engineered a quick, eight-play scoring drive that was capped off by a bullet throw to KaVontae Turpin to bring the Cowboys within three points. In the second half after the interception, Prescott got better and better and then caught fire. His ball placement was terrific, putting the ball in tight windows where only his receivers could get it.
On one occasion, the Giants tried to double-team CeeDee Lamb on third down, using linebacker Bobby Okereke to bracket Lamb, but Prescott put the ball perfectly between the two Giants defenders, where Lamb snatched the ball away from their awaiting hands. In the pocket, he was under a lot of pressure from the Giants and stood strong to make difficult throws, knowing that he was going to get hit hard by a blitzing linebacker or pass rusher. Despite the team having their backs against the wall after surrendering not one, but two, long touchdown passes late in the fourth quarter, Prescott brought his team into field goal range to tie the game to force overtime.
Finally, Prescott broke the pocket for a 14-yard scramble at the end of overtime, placing the team in a comfortable range for the game-winning kick. With the win, his dominance against the Giants continues, having last lost to the Giants when he was a rookie in 2016. The game marked Prescott’s 24th game-winning drive of his career and his third against New York.
Brandon Aubrey is the best kicker in football. There’s nobody better at making long kicks look so routine that it’s almost mundane. His steely demeanor exudes a calmness that permeates into the coaches who trust him to make these long attempts, and likely that extends to the fans who expect him to make these kicks. When he lines up to kick...
