The Dallas Cowboys won another football game. It once again came against an NFC East team, as the Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 27-20 on Thursday to keep their season interesting. It was a nice treat for a season that has lacked a lot of substance. Here are 10 thoughts on the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving win over the Giants.
1. RICO’S BEST DAY
We were told that the Cowboys would make Rico Dowdle the workhorse back for this offense, and it turns out, they weren’t lying. This was the second straight game he’s dominated the work in the backfield and put up another good showing. Dowdle’s 22 carries for 112 yards are both career highs for him. He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, which feels crazy. Dowdle ran with energy and displayed a lot of shiftiness giving the Cowboys running game their first sign of life this season. Better late than never.
2. TAKING AWAY THE RUN
Not only did the Cowboys establish the run on offense, but they did a nice job stopping the Giants running backs. Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. only had 32 yards on nine carries (3.6 ypc) and veteran Devin Singletary had 23 yards on seven carries (3.3 ypc). Besides letting quarterback Drew Lock get loose a couple of times, the Cowboys defense was fantastic against the run. There weren’t many rushing lanes to be found and the defense did a good job wrapping up.
3. FEASTING ON LOCK
The run defense was good, but so was the Cowboys pass rush. All day they were in Lock’s face causing problems. On the day, the Cowboys’ defense finished with six total sacks with Micah Parsons leading the way with two. Several players got in on the action including Carl Lawson, Osa Odighizuwa, Donovan Wilson, and Eric Kendricks who also stripped the ball away on his sack. Even Mazi Smith was credited with half a sack. You know things are going well when Mazi is getting in on the action.
4. WELCOME BACK, BRANDIN
After missing the last seven games dealing with an infection in his knee following arthroscopic surgery, Brandin Cooks was back in action on Thursday. He only caught three passes for 16 yards, but a couple of those catches were big. He caught a touchdown pass on the Cowboys’ opening drive in the second half to extend their lead to 20-10. And then he caught a key pass late in the game when the Cowboys courageously aired it out on third down to get a first down and ice the game. It wasn’t much, but it was nice to have the veteran receiver back on the field.
5. ANOTHER THANKSGIVING PICK-SIX
One player who didn’t have a sack was DeMarvion Overshown, but he was all over the place. The Cowboys young linebacker finished the game with nine tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception returned for a touchdown when he batted a pass to himself and scampered 23 yards for the score. It was a year ago on Thanksgiving when DaRon Bland broke the NFL record with his fifth pick-six of the year, so it was nice to see the team get another with their first defensive score of the year.
6. WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE, AGAIN
With Kendricks’ sack/fumble and Overshown’s pick-six, the Cowboys forced two turnovers in this game. It’s nice to see them take the ball away, but it’s even more satisfying when they don’t turn the ball over on offense. The Cowboys finished the game with a plus two turnover margin for the second straight game. Cooper Rush came close to fumbling the ball into the endzone, but fortunately, his knee was ruled down and gave the Cowboys new life. It’s a lot easier to win games when they can finish ahead in the turnover battle.
7. AN ANNOYING PENALTY
Parsons came so close to blocking a punt in the second quarter but instead was called for running into the kicker. The penalty didn’t give the Giants a new set of downs, but it did allow them to re-do the punt after the first one traveled into the end zone for a touchback. The second punt was much better rolling down at the one-yard-line. The Cowboys essentially wasted a play using a quarterback sneak just to get a little breathing room. The drive was a quick three-and-out and gave the Giants great field position that they converted into three points, making it a 13-10 game.
8. SILENCED THE LAMB
Entering the week, CeeDee Lamb had 77 receptions on the year, the most in the NFL. Unfortunately, his place a the top spot is in jeopardy as he only had two catches on Thursday, his lowest total since the season opener of the 2022 season. It was a tough day for the Cowboys star receiver as he had three drops and exited the game in what looked like a re-aggravation of a shoulder injury he already had.
9. TOTAL OWNAGE
With this win, the Cowboys have swept the Giants on the year. This is the fourth-straight season that Dallas has swept New York, and now makes 15/16 wins for the Cowboys when these teams face off. This series has been completely one-sided over the last eight seasons as the Cowboys continue their dominance over those Jersey boys in blue.
10. STILL IN THE HUNT
Don’t look now folks, but the Cowboys have themselves a winning streak. They currently sit with a 5-7 record, which, if we’re being honest, still looks pretty bad. But, with seven teams in the conference making the playoffs each year, they are not completely out of striking distance. The Washington Commanders (7-5) currently hold the seventh and final spot, but they have lost three straight games and are heading in the wrong direction. Arizona (6-5), Los Angeles (5-6), San Francisco (5-6), and Tampa Bay (5-6) are all also in the mix. It’s still premature to be thinking about the P-word, but if the Cowboys win a couple more games, it might be time to have a more serious conversation.
