In Monday’s football game in New Jersey, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 23-16. Dallas is now 2-0, while the Giants have dropped their first game of the season. There are five players to keep an eye on in this last game between two NFC East rivals.
Rush replace Dak Prescott as QB
Following Dak Prescott’s injury, Cooper Rush was named the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. Rush completed 13-of-15 passes in three second-half possessions. He finished 21 of 31 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Rush has established himself as one of the NFL’s most capable backups, following Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ comments this week about a potential quarterback competition in Dallas with Prescott absent.
Rush was at his best in the second half, when Dallas needed him the most. He completed 12 of his next 13 passes for 129 yards after the Giants took a 13-6 lead in the third quarter, leading back-to-back touchdown drives.
Lamb’s one-handed-touchdown catch
In Monday’s night game, Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch. After Giants’ 36-yard touchdown, Dallas immediately caught up with Ezekiel Elliott’s one-yard touchdown run.
Then, Lamb’s spectacular end-zone reception led the Cowboys ahead with 8:34 remaining. Lamb had 87 yards and eight catches, averaging 10.9 yards per reception. He caught four passes for 48 yards, including a fourth-down catch. However, he was angry at himself after missing a wide-open pass. He paced the sideline after the play as teammates approached to encourage him.
“It was a situation I had to deal with on my own. Obviously, I’m the one that dropped the ball for the guys,” Lamb said. “So knowing that I had to make this up in the back end of the game, I just wanted to step up.”
Lawrence steps up for Dallas
Two-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence gave significant pressure on the Giants’ offense. Lawrence matched his career with three sacks that battered Jones. In total, Lawrence gave seven total pressures on Jones. Lawrence also recorded six tackles and three quarterback hits, saying he “feels great.”
“Me and Micah (Parsons) got a little bet going on, I feel like I was a little behind,” Lawrence said to NFL Network. “The energy was up, my body felt good today, so I attacked it.”
8️⃣8️⃣ doing 8️⃣8️⃣ things 👀 @dak & @DezBryant are feeling this @_CeeDeeThree TD grab!#DALvsNYG | 📺: @ABC + @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/ujvSC9l4op
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 27, 2022
All eyes on Giants’ Jones
Daniel Jones was facing criticism ahead of his fourth NFL season. He needed to prove himself ahead of free agency in March because he hadn’t given New York a significant effect so far. Giants expected Jones to manage the game after his only interception led New York to a comeback win in Week 1.
Jones completed only eight of twenty passes for actual first downs in the previous game. When he had a chance to pass, he missed open receivers. He completed 54.1 percent of his passes, gaining 196 yards and scoring zero touchdowns. Jones was pressured on 24 dropbacks and was running for his life the whole game. In his career, he is now 0-9 in primetime games.
Barkley shows he is still with Giants
Giants running back Saquon Barkley has missed 19 games over the past two seasons after a dominating start to his NFL career in 2018 and 2019 where he recorded 3,469 total yards and 23 touchdowns. Barkley missed several games because of injury issues. It even led to wild speculation that the Giants would trade him during the offseason
Barkley’s presence helped to balance Jones in the last game. Barkley had four receptions for 45 yards and rushed for 81 yards on 14 carries, including a 36-yard touchdown run with 5:31 left in the third quarter that gave the Giants their only lead, 13-6.
.@Saquon for 6! 💪
📺: #DALvsNYG on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/D62zaILv7u pic.twitter.com/56gBEaf2Sf— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2022