Turnovers, blown coverages and questionable coaching decisions all contributed to the New York Giants falling defeated to the Dallas Cowboys on MNF.
- New York Giants 18 (2-7)
- Dallas Cowboys 37 (5-3)
- NFL, Final, Box Score
- MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—The New York Giants dropped their sixth-consecutive game to the Dallas Cowboys, 37-18, on Monday Night Football and now sit at 2-7. The game was closer than the final score indicates as the Cowboys led 16-15 heading into the fourth quarter.
But the same issues that have plagued the Giants all season long reared its head on Monday night and prevented the Giants from picking up a much-needed win.
The biggest issue during the Giants’ five-game losing streak has been the tendency in which Daniel Jones turns the ball over. Jones came into this game with 13 turnovers (seven interceptions & six fumbles) and he turned the ball over three more times on Monday night; he lost two fumbles and threw an interception.
#DallasCowboys take the ball right back…. #DALvsNYG pic.twitter.com/CUS5icvYMO
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2019
His interception at the end of the first half shifted the momentum of the game to the Cowboys favor. With the Giants up 12-10 with 39 seconds remaining in the half, and facing a 3rd and 10 from their 26-yard line, Jones attempted a pass to Darius Slayton, but it was intercepted by Xavier Woods.
Four plays later, Brett Maher would kick a 52-yard field to give Dallas a 13-12 halftime lead.
"I'll take that…" – @its_hollyWOODS, probably. #DALvsNYG | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/hzxGDj5328
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2019
The final sequence of the half not only illustrated how Jones turnovers are plaguing the team, but it also highlighted a questionable decision by Shurmur to not play it safe and run the ball in that situation, since his team would receive the second-half kickoff.
Had the Giants gone into halftime with a 12-10 lead, they would still have momentum in their favor. Instead, they went into the half trailing despite outplaying Dallas in the first half.
The Giants’ inability to cover tight ends has been an ongoing issue for what seems like a decade, and it was on display once again. Longtime Giants nemesis Jason Witten caught eight passes for 58 yards as he always managed to come up with a key catch. The Cowboys’ other tight end, Blake Jarwin, caught only one pass the entire game, but he made one of the biggest plays of the game.
With the Cowboys trailing 12-3 with less than a minute remaining in the first half, and the Cowboys facing a 2nd and 10 from the Giants 42 yard line, Jarwin caught a short pass from Dak Prescott on the right side of the field. He ran downfield, broke a futile tackle attempt by Janoris Jenkins and ran into the end zone for a touchdown.
.@Jaws_47 to the ?#DALvsNYG | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/2btDqSV051
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2019
The back-breaking play was the result of an issue that defensive coordinator James Bettcher has yet to fix and that’s the communication with his secondary. With the Cowboys up 23-18 and facing a 3rd and 12 from the Giants 45-yard-line, midway through the 4th quarter, Prescott connected with a wide-open Amari Cooper down the middle of the field and he raced into the end zone for a touchdown. The score put the Cowboys up 30-18, which ended the competitive phase of the game.
& that's Amari! @AmariCooper9 | #DALvsNYG pic.twitter.com/YAh5FbhwQU
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2019
On that play, three defenders, Corey Ballentine, Michael Thomas and Antoine Bethea followed Randall Cobb on a seam route down the left side of the field and neglected Cooper, who ran a post route. For there to still be communication issues nine games into the season reflects poorly on the coaching staff.
The Giants will have a short week to fix these issues as they take on the (1-7) New York Jets Sunday at MetLife Stadium for NYC/NJ bragging rights in what is a “home game” for the Jets.
