NFL: New York unimaginative: Cowboys-D dominates the Giantmen

The Dallas Cowboys have won their first game of the season in the Sunday Night Game. At 20-13 over the New York Giants, the hosts’ pass rush dominated and Eli Manning prepared an evening that he will soon want to forget, but will feel even longer.

A 0-2 start was to be avoided for both teams, but the cowboys seemed to want to work more aggressively towards this goal right from the start. After the Boyz-Offense was super-armless last week, they started with an absolute highlight. After a Play Action design, Dak Prescott (16/25, 160 YDS, TD; Ruhsing: 7 ATT, 45 YDS) sent Tavon Austin on the journey. He beat Janoris Jenkins at the line of scrimmage and was free for a 64-yard score.

Unfortunately, the teams were not able to continue with the start. Both offenses were strongly restrained and especially the Giants had no answers to the lightning designs of the cowboys, whose pass rush could not be stopped from the beginning. Not once did the Giants cross the centre line in the first round. The second round started with a fumble at the fifth sack for Eli Manning (33/44, 279 YDS, TD, FUM) at that time. But the Boyz offense could not take the game out of reach.

In addition to the lack of penetrating power on both sides, there were also repeated inconsistencies and mistakes. Many penalties denied the offenses the opportunity to move across the field. The tendency for both to rely heavily on their running game was finally rewarded in the fourth quarter. However, this was also proven by Read Options with Prescott and Elliott. A drive with four bigger runs was enough for the cowboys to take New York out of play. Evan Engram scored a touchdown against the Cowboys’ Prevent Defense in the final stage and a successful onside kick was followed by a field goal. But then New York’s luck was over.

Lawrence’s mix of power and lateral movements was too much of a good thing for Ereck Flowers. Lawrence worked through the tackle until it gave way. Sequences in which Lawrence worked Flowers with spins moves until he could no longer hold him showed the advantages of the Pass Rusher. He was a constant source of unrest and one reason why Manning always seemed completely nervous in the pocket. Besides his bag Lawrence also collected two Tackles for Loss.

Of course, Manning has received little support from his O-Line, but the veteran was far too seldom willing to give his athletic weapons opportunities for plays. Manning missed a completely free third quarter Beckham, missing a safe touchdown. His lack of confidence in his protection meant that mainly short passes could be obtained for little or no space gain. The simple and monotonous offense was so easy to understand and even pre-snap adjustments for blocking allocation seem to have been missed several times.