The Dallas Cowboys overcame a slow start to clobber the Giants on Monday Night Football. Studs and duds from the Week 9 victory, moving the Boys to 5-3.
In a game where the Dallas Cowboys figured to dominate the struggling rival New York Giants on Monday Night Football, America’s Team got off to an inauspicious start. After Dak Prescott threw an interception on the first play of the game (following a muffed kickoff return), the Giants were able to take a 12-3 lead in the second quarter. The Cowboys shored things up, though, and then took care of business.
After the Giants field goal to go up 12-3, the Cowboys outscored their NFC East rivals 34-6 over the final 32 minutes of play in Week 9. That was capped off by a 63-yard fumble return touchdown from Jourdan Lewis right before time expired, putting an exclamation mark on a big win for Dallas.
It wasn’t a perfect performance from the division leaders by any measure but they did take care of business and get a win to move to 5-3 on the season. These were the studs and duds from the Dallas Cowboys victory over the G-Men in primetime.
Stud: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
While he didn’t find the end zone and was not a factor in the passing game, Ezekiel Elliott looked worth every penny he’s getting paid on his new deal on Monday night. The star running back was moving the ball at will on the ground, cutting through the defense for positive gains routinely and breaking several big chunks of yardage off from start to finish.
Elliott finished the night with 23 carries for 139 yards on the night, averaging an impressive 6.0 yards per carry. This marks the third straight game for Elliott with at least 100 yards rushing and he’s clearly hitting his stride after missing the preseason. That will be crucial for the stretch run in Dallas.
Stud: Cowboys front seven
Throughout the primetime contest, the Cowboys were getting after Daniel Jones, taking advantage of poor tackle play from Mike Remmers but also just playing at a high level after a slow-ish start out of the gate. Dallas ended the game with five sacks of Jones as DeMarcus Lawrence, Robert Quinn, Michael Bennett, Maliek Collins and Jaylon Smith all got to the quarterback.
Not only were the Cowboys able to pressure a young quarterback and force mistakes but they also largely bottled up Saquon Barkley. Outside of his one 65-yard reception late, Barkley was bottled up. Remove that catch and he had 14 carries for 28 yards and five catches for two yards. This was a stout performance from the Dallas front seven, especially considering that Leighton Vander Esch was sidelined due to injury.