New York Giants Dominated by Dallas Cowboys, 49-17

Things just continue to get worse for the Giants, who fall to 2-8 on the year.

Author:
Joe Najarian
Publish date:
Nov 12, 2023 8:30 PM EST

In this story:

The New York Giants continued to embarrass themselves on the field as they suffered a second blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a 49-17 defeat in Arlington. Combined with the 40-0 shellacking in East Rutherford in Week 1, the Cowboys have outscored the Giants 89-17 in the 2023 season.

New York’s offense accumulated 172 total yards, with only 61 net passing yards, and went 0-12 on third downs. The defense was even worse, getting shredded for 640 yards (472 passing, 168 rushing) and allowing 8.3 yards per play. Dallas held the ball for over 37 minutes and built up a 28-0 at halftime.

Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito made his first career start and did as well as anyone would expect against an elite Cowboys defense. Despite throwing two touchdown passes, he completed just 14 of 27 passes for 86 yards, took five sacks, and was intercepted once. Tight end Daniel Bellinger was the team’s leading receiver but with only 34 yards on two catches. DeVito did rush for 41 yards while running back Saquon Barkley had 66 yards on 13 carries, although he was largely a non-factor in the game.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott annihilated the Giants’ defense and didn’t even take a single snap in the fourth quarter. He completed 26 of 35 passes for 404 yards, four touchdowns against one interception, and a 138.3 passer rating while rushing for a score.

Brandin Cooks had nine catches for a staggering 173 yards and a touchdown, while CeeDee Lamb had 11 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing). In the first half alone, Cooks had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown, while Lamb had six catches for 98 yards and a 14-yard rushing touchdown.

Running backs Rico Dowdle and Tony Pollard combined for 134 rushing yards on 27 carries.

The game started strangely, as Giants coach Brian Daboll chose to challenge Dallas’s first play from scrimmage; he believed that Cooks lost the ball; however, it was quickly determined that Cooks was down, and the Giants effectively wasted their first timeout.

The opening drive would only get stranger from there as the Cowboys drove to the New York 1-yard line. On the way there, Lamb made an incredible one-handed catch for 30 yards while Dowdle ripped off a 21-yard run. However, the Giants’ defense would step up and force a turnover on downs, as Azeez Ojulari and Dexter Lawrence tackled Tony Pollard one yard short of the end zone on 4th and 2.

New York’s first two possessions were inside their 10-yard line, and both ended in three-and-outs. Dallas went three-and-out on their second possession but finally broke through on their third one.

With great field position at the Giants’ 46-yard line, the Cowboys needed just five plays to capitalize; a 16-yard reception by Jake Ferguson and a 7-yard scramble by Prescott on 3rd and 6 set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Lamb, giving Dallas a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Nov 12, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse (1) attempts to sack New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium.

New York was forced to punt again, but they soon received a prime scoring chance from their defense. On the final play of the first quarter, Cor’Dale Flott intercepted a pass from Prescott and returned it to the Cowboys’ 12-yard line. Unfortunately, the offense failed to capitalize and immediately went four-and-out; a 6-yard scramble by DeVito brought up 4th-and-2 at the Dallas 4, but Barkley was tackled for no gain for a turnover on downs.

The Cowboys completely took over the game from there, as the Giants’ overused defense fell apart. Dallas scored touchdowns on their final three possessions of the first half; the first saw them drive the field's length in just eight plays. A 25-yard reception by Cooks, a 30-yard deep pass to Lamb, an 11-yard reception by Jalen Brooks, and a 15-yard run by Pollard bolstered the drive. Prescott then finished the possession with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ferguson.

The Cowboys’ next possession was a 6-play, 54-yard touchdown drive that featured a 12-yard run by Pollard and a 17-yard run by Dowdle and ended with Cooks’ 10-yard touchdown catch.

One minute later, Dallas got the ball back and drove 85 yards in just seven plays, sparked by a 34-yard catch by Cooks. Cooks later caught a 16-yard pass, and Lamb hauled in a 17-yard catch on a ball that was intended to be thrown out of bounds.

Prescott finished the drive himself with a 10-yard touchdown scramble to make it 28-0; meanwhile, New York’s offense went three-and-out twice in between the Cowboys’ three touchdowns and simply kneeled out the clock to end the first half after the third touchdown.

The first half ended with the Giants accumulating just 27 yards of total offense while their defense allowed a staggering 368 yards. New York ran just 22 plays, while Dallas ran 42.

Both teams punted to start the second half, but the Giants finally broke up the shutout on their next possession. Pinned at their 9-yard line, they moved 91 yards in seven plays; DeVito racked up 27 yards from scrambles, including a 19-yard run that moved the ball into Dallas territory, while Barkley started the drive with a 13-yard run and later took off for a 21-yard run, ultimately accounting for 44 yards on the drive. DeVito finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Lawrence Cager for his second career passing touchdown.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys resumed their domination after allowing the Giants to score. They stormed 86 yards in six plays, with Prescott completing a 28-yard deep pass to Lamb before throwing a 41-yard bomb to Michael Gallup to make it 35-7. When New York got the ball back, DeVito threw a pass to Jalin Hyatt in triple coverage, resulting in an easy interception for DaRon Bland.

Dallas capitalized by moving 77 yards in eight plays, with Cooks catching a 37-yard deep shot and turning a short pass into a 32-yard reception. Prescott then threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 12-yard pass to Lamb, extending the lead to 42-7. Cooper Rush would replace Prescott under center for the rest of the game.

With the game already decided, the fourth quarter would only have a trio of meaningless scores. Darnay Holmes intercepted a pass from Rush to set up a 40-yard field goal by Randy Bullock (his first in a Giants uniform this season), while the Cowboys responded on their next drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Dowdle. The Giants then concluded the scoring when DeVito threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with six seconds left in the game.