New York Giants Week 12: First Look at Dallas Cowboys Offense
Taking the loss against the Detroit Lions with them, the Giants’ calendar now reverts to a familiar foe for arguably one of the biggest stages of the 2022 season. Leaving MetLife Stadium for the first time in three weeks, New York will travel to Dallas for a divisional rematch with the Cowboys (7-3)on Thanksgiving Day.
Not only is the matchup important for the storied rivalry, but there could also be heavy divisional implications for the winning team. In a competitive NFC East where no team sits below .500 through 11 weeks, the Giants find themselves even with the Cowboys and two games behind the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the division. With five of their last seven games against division opponents, it will be crucial to stack the contests in their favor and avoid destiny by the tiebreakers.
The holiday meeting marks the 122nd time the historic franchises will square off, with the Cowboys boasting a 72-47-2 lead in the all-time series, including three last games. In Week 3, the Giants hosted the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium for a Monday Night Football affair, but backup quarterback Cooper Rush stole the bright lights and a 23-16 victory for the Boys while giving New York their first loss of the season.
Since that primetime defeat in September, a lot has transpired for both organizations. On the Dallas side, however, the most notable storyline has been the return of quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys’ 2016 fourth-round pick missed five games following the season opener with a thumb injury on his throwing hand, allowing Rush to run the show and stir controversy within the Dallas locker room.
Yet, the position was never truly taken away from Prescott, who returned in Week 7 and has been working his way back into the team’s offensive groove. Prescott has completed 75.1 % of his passes in his last four starts for 989 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions. All games finished with at least 200 yards passing, and he overcame Rush’ 1,020 yards on the Cowboys’ leaderboard.
Meanwhile, the injury bug seems to have shifted to the running backs circle. Former Ohio State product and starter Ezekiel Elliott has been battling a knee ailment, missing three of the last four games and forcing most of the production on Tony Pollard’s shoulders. The Cowboys’ backup rusher leads the team with 118 carries for 701 yards and six touchdowns and is ranked top-15 in rushing yards, touchdowns, and average yards per rush (6.0).
In the receiving department, things have remained fairly stable, with only an increase in production from a handful of pass catchers. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb still leads the unit with 58 receptions for 751 yards and five touchdowns through eleven games, but Noah Brown and tight end Dalton Schultz have risen the leaderboards with 384 and 279 yards, respectively. Pollard and tight end Peyton Hendershot have gotten more involved as well.
The Cowboys have fallen a bit from their league-best offense in total yards and points in 2021, but their group has still managed to compete atop the NFL in most major categories. They currently stand 11th and 20th in the aforementioned statistics while having the sixth-least turnovers this season (9). On the same token, Dallas isn't great at extending drives by ranking 24th in total first downs converted.
Through the air, the Cowboys have struggled in Prescott’s return, ranking 22nd in attempts while standing 26th in passing yards (2,173), 18th in touchdowns (11), and 18th in average yards per catch (6.0). The ground game has been their savior, as Pollard’s heroics have kept them within the top 10 in rushing attempts (256), yards (1,211), and touchdowns (11). Dallas also averages 4.7 yards per carry to sit 15th overall in that area.
Their astounding defense looks to help the Cowboys in this matchup, which holds teams to some of the lowest production totals in the league and ranks seventh in total takeaways. However, their run defense has been suspect, and that is a key component of the Giants’ offensive success as of late, making for an intriguing matchup of strength versus strength at AT&T Stadium.
There will be more bright lights, plenty of turkey legs, and divisional fanfare. The bigger question remains will there be an important victory for the Giants to savor on the Thanksgiving plane ride home? Until then, let’s take a deeper look at the Cowboys’ offensive squad and what they’re bringing to the table on Thursday.
Nov 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks on following the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback
Earlier in the 2022 season, the Giants were one of several teams caught on the wrong side of the Cooper Rush quarterbacking saga. In Week 3, the backup gunslinger gave New York their first loss of the year behind 21 completions for 215 yards and a touchdown. The Monday Night Football showing extended his record to 3-0 and further stirred noise regarding competition at the Cowboys’ prized position.
After a valiant effort by Rush that included a 58.4 completion percentage for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions, the Cowboys have curtailed his services after seven games to bring back their true starter in Dak Prescott. A seven-year pro out of Mississippi State, Prescott returned in Week 7 after suffering a thumb injury in the season opener against Tampa Bay that sidelined him with surgery.
Since being drafted by the Cowboys in 2016 and taking over for predecessor Tony Romo, the 29-year-old quarterback has had a flashy tenure in Arlington. Except for 2020 and 2022, when he dealt with injuries, Prescott has played at least 16 games per season for Dallas and achieved at least 300 completions, 3,324 passing yards, and 22 touchdowns.
While none of those heroic seasons have resulted in Super Bowl title, the franchise is confident they can get there so long as Prescott is under center. In five games this year, he has 103 completions for 1,132 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions, the latter tying him for sixth-most among active quarterbacks.
The Cowboys have also played the Giants fairly well when Prescott calls the shots in the huddle. In 11 career games against Big Blue, Prescott holds a 9-2 advantage, with eight of his contests posting over 215 passing yards and at least one touchdown. His only defeats came in the 2016 season when the Giants beat Dallas twice despite the Cowboys taking the NFC East crown.
On a base level, Prescott follows a quarterback tree defined by greats like Donovan McNabb where he showcases a thick, muscular build at 6 '2”, 238 pounds. Along with using that to his advantage in short-yardage situations, Prescott has the mobility and arm strength to fit throws anywhere and challenge opposing defenses.
During his combine workouts in 2016, there were concerns amongst team scouts for his mechanics, poise, and quickness through progressions, but those have all become hogwash in six years of professional football. With reps and a clean pocket, Prescott has shown growth as a passer and can display the natural talent and polish needed as an elite quarterback.
Playing out of the shotgun, Prescott stands tall and relaxed as reads the different levels of the field and finds breaks in the coverage. At the point of release, his throw features very little windup and leaves with a sharp flick of the wrist and tight spiral as it soars over the top in short to intermediate ranges. He also likes to use hip snaps to increase the velocity on his throws for tight windows.
If pressure closes in on the pocket, Prescott remains poised, willing to put the offense on his back and take a blow to extend the Cowboys’ drives into scoring opportunities. Excellent field vision and care for the football are a specialty, as Prescott hates to let ill-advised throws cost his unit an important possession.
On the other hand, give Prescott a clean pocket, and he will challenge defenses to the deeper levels of the field, especially with gifted receivers like CeeDee Lamb in his arsenal. His deep strike has accuracy and touch and often falls right into the breadbasket of the receiver for a big catch-and-run play. Prescott is also a threat with his legs, able to extend the play to the perimeter and throw darts across his body on the run.
Prescott isn’t the speedy quarterback the Giants’ defense has seen in recent weeks, but he can impact the game as a power rusher toward the goal line. His career rushing resume boasts 324 attempts for 1,527 yards and 26 touchdowns. He achieved at least 275 yards rushing in four seasons and three touchdowns on the ground.
Nov 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard (20) celebrates his touchdown during the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Running Backs
The Cowboys rushing department will welcome the Giants’ defense in Week 12 red hot on the heels of their strongest game of the year against the Minnesota Vikings. In a dominant 40-3 affair last Sunday, Dallas was bolstered on the ground by 151 total rushing yards and two touchdowns, 122 yards of which came from Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard, with the former knotting the two endzone scores.
For the last month of the regular season, the Cowboys have been without the services of their lead rusher, Elliot. The 2016 fourth-round pick out of Ohio State suffered a knee injury in Week 7, missing three games and putting the pressure on his teammate in Pollard to sustain the top-10 rushing attack. Pollard performed well with two 100+ yard rushing outings and four touchdowns, and now his predecessor has returned to add more versatility to the Cowboys’ ground game.
On the record books alone, Elliot has been one of the last decade's more impressive NFL running backs. In six seasons with the Cowboys, the 27-year-old has four campaigns with at least 1000 yards rushing and an average of 4.2 yards per rush. His success has taken great form against the Giants’ defense, where Elliot has rallied 827 yards and nine touchdowns and ten contests with New York.
Thus far, Elliot has accumulated 124 carries for 485 yards and six touchdowns, sitting in ninth among active running backs for the latter category while averaging 3.9 yards per carry. The Giants should expect him to continue his role as the Cowboys’ three-down back, deploying size and athleticism to earn a chunk of the rushing yardage and contribute to the passing game.
Taking handoffs from Prescott, Elliot will use his 226-pound frame to pound the football up the middle early and often to wear out the opposing defense. He is normally featured in early down and short yardage situations, earning medium chunks of yardage and a lot of the Cowboys first down conversions on the ground.
If the Cowboys switch gears to an outside rushing attack, Elliot will use sturdy footwork and expanded vision to see where the defense is flowing before bouncing out towards the sideline and engaging in an open field footrace down the numbers. He has 4.4 40-yard speed to evade the quickest defensive backs and has contact balance between shedding tackles and remaining upright for extra yardage.
As a pass catcher, the Cowboys have maintained their pattern of featuring Elliot in bubble or wheel route concepts, especially when internal pressure comes from the secondary. However, his route tree can extend to intermediate crossing routes over the middle, and Prescott will look to Elliot for those catches if nothing else is open down the field. In his career, Elliot has 2,281 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns with at least two passing scores in the last six seasons.
Pollard, the 25-year-old back out of Memphis, will resume his duties as the backup, third down rusher, and pass-catching asset. A fourth-round pick in 2019, he is on the verge of smashing his preseason career yardage (705 yards) in one campaign, adding an average of 5.9 yards per rush and six touchdowns to his 2022 resume.
Pollard will also be deployed in short-yardage situations and goal-line attempts when he's not catching the ball. His shifty speed makes him an intriguing weapon in outside zone rushes and jet sweep motions, where he can confuse the defense before the snap and then engage in a foot race toward the pylons. The Cowboys like to send him across the field for a fake before extending into the flat for the play-action offense along the sidelines.
Nov 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) carries the ball during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Wide Receivers
Entering Thursday afternoon’s holiday special, the Cowboys receiving unit will feature the same three playmakers as last time, the only difference being the production order between their contributors.
At the top of the leaderboards is third-year receiver CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys’ surefire No. 1 pass catcher and most talented skill position player. The 23-year-old from Oklahoma has dominated with the star on his helmet, posting 211 receptions for 2,788 yards (13.2-yard average) and 16 touchdowns in 42 total starts for the franchise. His campaigns have secured at least 58 catches and 750 yards in the air, with the 2022 numbers landing top-10 among active receivers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
With the departure of Amari Cooper via trade in the offseason, Lamb has ascended into the role of the Cowboys’ deep-threat receiving weapon. Having athleticism, playmaking ability, and some of the best-contested catch hands in the league, Dallas loves to play Lamb on the outside in two-receiver sets or 12-man personal formations and let him outmatch corners down the numbers.
Lamb’s route tree tends to showcase heavy verticals, deep middle posts, and corner breaks, whereas Dak Prescott likes to loft passes over the top for his gifted receiver to make the big-time catch extended from the defender. He is dangerous with open grass ahead of him, possessing elite speed and elusiveness to outrace chasing defenders and create the highlight-reel score in the endzone.
Along with his hands, the Cowboys’ 2020 first-round pick excels at deceiving opposing defenses with nifty play fakes and pass protection decoys. Last season, most of these fakes came on screen plays where Lamb tricks the corner into biting down on the play before twitching his hips and reverting upfield for an uncovered fade target toward the endzone.
He’ll also line up on the outside and approach the corner at the second level, trapping him at his frame to allow the slot player to make the catch-and-run play from the backfield.
Fifth-year receiver Michael Gallup is still within the Cowboys’ top-five pass-catching leaders, but recent injury woes have dropped him below Noah Brown in the order of contributions.
After missing the first three games of the season, the 26-year-old out of Colorado State has appeared in the last seven contests and tallied 19 receptions for 211 yards and one touchdown. The line currently projects to be the worst of his career, with less than half of the output through nine games in 2021.
Juxtaposed to Lamb, Gallup remains the Cowboys’ speedy, short-route weapon. Lining up on the outside or inside the slot, Prescott loves to check the ball to his teammate on quick slant routes, dig routes inside, and flat passes toward the boundaries. On occasion, Dallas will shift things and send Gallup vertically, attacking the defense on midrange comeback looks, flood concepts, and toe-dragging corner routes.
No matter where is on the field, Gallup has excellent awareness of the catching spaces around him and peripheral vision to secure important targets along the perimeter. If the quarterback isn’t looking in his direction, he uses his total field vision to locate holes in the coverage and extend the route toward the other side. On vertical routes for contested 50/50 balls, Gallup has the focus and hand strength to lock in the midair catch and quickly shift his eyes toward his feet to ensure both get inbounds for a successful play.
Brown, the fifth-year player out of LSU, has become the Cowboys’ second-leading wide receiver in nine appearances this fall. After trailing Gallup and Lamb earlier in the season, he has passed the latter by holding 28 receptions for 384 yards and one touchdown while averaging a team-high 13.7 yards per catch.
The lack of Cooper in the Cowboys’ offensive game plan has benefited Brown’s opportunities to contribute in many of the same capabilities as his aforementioned teammates. He’s currently building on a career-high receiving line and the Cowboys’ Week 3 meeting with New York marked his fourth-beat outing this season, posting five catches for 54 yards and an average of 10.8 yards per target.
Nov 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz (86) catches a pass during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Tight Ends
Like quarterback Dak Prescott, the Giants' defense will have another offensive weapon to cover when Dalton Schultz takes the field for the second matchup with Dallas.
The tight end from Stanford missed the two side’s Monday Night Football matchup in Week 3 due to an PCL sprain sustained in Dallas’s win over Cincinnati a week prior. He returned the following week but didn’t get back to good health and meaningful production until Week 7, from which he has accumulated 20 receptions for 199 yards and one touchdown.
While 2022’s numbers haven’t been impressive, Schultz has a history of being a productive weapon in the Cowboys’ offense, whether as a pass catcher or in-line blocker. In the former, he has tallied 183 receptions for 1,824 yards (10 yards average) and 13 touchdowns, the third most productive player in Dallas’s receiving corps. Since 2020, he’s finished each season with at least 63 catches, 615 yards receiving, and four touchdowns, a line he may not attain for a third straight year amid injuries.
When Schultz is involved in the passing attack, there is no spot on the field the Cowboys will not deploy him. The 26-year-old has incredibly reliable hands making him a threat at any level of the field and a weapon the Giants defense will have to keep a focus on in three wide receivers or empty formations.
Stacking the front line as if he were going to help block the edge, Schultz tends to shed off their inside rusher and head towards the immediate short field or sidelines for a quick dump pass to follow his second-level blockers. He can also fall back for screen plays, turning up for chunks of yardage behind the Cowboys’ stellar pulling linemen.
Schultz doesn’t have insane speed to torch defenders deep, but when he lines out wide or in the slot, he can keep flashy corners on their toes with excellent strides and contested catch ability. Dallas will showcase him on many corner and deep post routes toward the numbers, where he can contribute to first-down conversions and be the big-body receiver on the edge when pressure collapses the pocket.
Behind Schulz, the Cowboys will sprinkle in reps with tight ends Peyton Hendershot and Jake Ferguson, the team’s 2022 fourth-round selection out of Wisconsin. Both players are knotted at ten receptions for 83 yards on the season and share three touchdowns. They can contribute to the short field and get involved by adding extra blockers on the offensive line for jumbo and 12-man packages.
Oct 16, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys guard Connor McGovern (66) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive Line
At the start of the 2022 season, the Dallas Cowboys entered with a rebuilt offensive line comprised of three new pieces they hoped to shape into the Pro Bowl blockers they’ve benefited from over the last several seasons. Despite the departures of Connor Williams and La’El Collins in free agency and the injury to Tyron Smith, the front line ranked in the middle of the NFL overall and looked to still hold some strength, with rookie Tyler Smith and Pro-Bowl guard Zach Martin holding down the unit.
With 11 games under their belts, the results have been as pretty for an offensive line that once ranked top 5 in nearly every blocking metric in 2021. As a group, the Cowboys rank dead last in team pass-block win rate (45%), a blaring number that has contributed to the offense posting nine turnovers and over 500 yards of penalties on the season. Protecting the run is a different story, as the Cowboys rank fifth-best in blocking for their rushers (74%).
The good news for the unit is they have remained relatively healthy to this point, a reality that’s hard to manage when injuries start to compile down the stretch of the season. Dallas returns home with the same unit deployed in Week 3 and will look to stifle the Giants’ aggressive defensive pressure.
Beginning at the left tackle position, the Cowboys will roll out rookie Tyler Smith out of Tulsa. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick in April’s draft and has been charged with filling the void left by his predecessor in Tyron Smith. His resume spoke well for his candidacy, with Smith ranking atop the FBS in big-time blocks and run-blocking efficiency during the 2021 campaign.
At 6’6”, 332 pounds, Smith has strength, aggressiveness, and strong football intellect to read what defenses are throwing at him and pick it off before the pressure can wreak havoc off the edge. He’s one of those linemen who hates getting beat off the ball, and he will make sure he gets the initial contact and carries it to the second level to open up holes for the run game to unfurl.
Connor McGovern still stands next to Smith at the left guard spot. A third-round selection by Dallas in 2019, McGovern has had big shoes to fill after William’s departure but has benefited from the tutelage of his teammate in Martin. The best aspect of his game is his versatility to shift in different spots on the line, as the 25-year-old has played in both guard spots over the past two seasons when injuries factored in.
Third-year player Tyler Biadasz holds the center role. Hailing from the University of Wisconsin and a former fourth-round pick by the Cowboys, Biadasz has given consistency to the most important position on the offensive line. Dating back to last fall, he’s made 28 straight starts after taking over for the former Joe Looney, whose tenure was halted by injuries in 2020.
Biadasz’s familiarity with the Cowboys’ system earned him the starting role in training camp, but he will need to show he can up his numbers to maintain it down the stretch. His overall blocking metrics have been high in his career, yet he posted a lower 65.1 blocking score at the end of the 2021 season.
The aforementioned Martin continues to hold down the right guard position in his ninth season wielding the star on his helmet. Martin, a seven-time Pro-Bowler, is instrumental in the Cowboys’ rushing offense and leads the charge in opening up the running lanes on the right side.
Finally, the Cowboys offensive line is rounded out at right tackle by Terrence Steele. The Texas A&M product is in his second season with Dallas after being signed as a free agent in 2020. He had concerns early in his career regarding strength and conditioning at the NFL level, but his improvements in run blocking have added to the Cowboys’ success on the outside rushing attack with Pollard and company.
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