New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys
Final Score: Cowboys 40, Giants 37
Writer: Cesar Escajeda
A million penalties, ridiculous highlight-reel plays, drops galore, broken coverages, overtime, and more than 75 combined points scored — this random, unnecessary slop fest of a thriller had it ALL.
Three Up
- Brandon Aubrey — It’s an odd week when special teams tops your weekly list of positivity, but Aubrey was a cold-blooded killer with his leg in this one. The most accurate long-range kicker in NFL history added to his legend in the early Sunday window, going 4-for-4 on XP and 4-for-4 on FG — one of which was the 64-yarder that sent the game into overtime, and another the 46-yarder that sealed the win. The man is a weapon from basically midfield, and double-digits from the K spot on your fantasy roster is an absolute luxury.
- Russell Wilson — Leave it to the Cowboys’ secondary to bring out a vintage performance from Wilson. The veteran QB was nothing short of awful against Washington last week, but boy did he flip it around in this one, going 30/41 for 450 yards and three scores. He willed the offense downfield consistently and as the game wore on he became even more surgical, landing deep shots accurately in the fourth quarter with little to no resistance. New York did not leave Dallas win a win however, so it wasn’t exactly all sunshine for Wilson on the day — but I’ll get to that further below.
- George Pickens — It took almost eight quarters across two weeks for Pickens to really start contributing for his new team, but the talented wideout chose the perfect time to reel in his only TD grab of the day. With just 52 seconds left in the fourth, Pickens had his name called on a 6-yard pass placed perfectly away from the Giants’ defender for the go-ahead score. It was far from a perfect outing, but the fact that QB Dak Prescott looked his way so often downfield on the day says there’s room for growth in this offense, and hopefully that catch was just the start.
Two Down
- Both Defenses — This game was an ugly one, that much we know — but to see almost 80 points collectively put on the board, 41 of which coming in the fourth quarter ALONE, there’s some questions to answer for both units. The Cowboys’ secondary for most of the day looked completely incapable of defending the deep ball, and there was virtually no pass rush (wow, I wonder why) to pressure Wilson and Co. The Giants, meanwhile, just could not get out of their own way with penalty after penalty, and as menacing as their pass rushers look on paper, they certainly didn’t play the part of game-wrecker here. Both units need to figure this out on the fly, or both offenses will be forced to pump out these high-scoring affairs on a weekly basis just to have a chance.
- Russell Wilson — “Mr. Unlimited” features on both lists this week, though it was a single play that landed him on the shadier side here. Toward the end of the game, Wilson was launching bomb after bomb effortlessly, and the Cowboys could do nothing to stop it — so it’s highly likely that he had the same idea with his overtime lob on New York’s final drive of the game, a ball delivered perfectly into the waiting arms of S Donovan Wilson for the interception. WR Malik Nabers, the intended recipient, was a solid 5 yards away from where that ball was placed, hustling to no avail to keep the turnover from happening. Call it false confidence, hubris, bad luck, whatever it was — a single play cost the veteran QB the win and the cherry on top of what had been, to this point, an excellent performance.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Russell Wilson: 30/41, 450 Yards, 3 TDs, INT, FUM | 3 Carries, 23 Yards
Did anyone see this performance coming?
Notes
- Entering the week, the noise to bench Wilson in favor of exciting rookie Jaxson Dart was deafening. The Giants’ offense with the veteran at the helm looked outright lethargic in the Week 1 loss to the Commanders, so there wasn’t much hope that the unit could turn it around on the road just one week later. Wilson did his best to put that notion away quickly, however. The offense started the game fast, marching down the field with a long 16-play drive that put a field goal on the board before stagnating once again. Right before the half, however, Wilson connected deep with Nabers on a well-placed ball, beginning the theme of moonshots-turned-TDs on the day. This was a positive performance coming seemingly out of thin air for the former Pro Bowler, so kudos to the Giants’ QB and the offensive staff for kickstarting this offense into gear. The loss obviously must sting, but it’s a good start to build off of going forward into the season.
Missed Opportunities
- The interception that handed Dallas the win is low-hanging fruit here, so I’ll list the Giants’ offense stalling on its first drive of overtime as the truly missed opportunity. New York had forced the Cowboys to punt, and all Wilson needed to do was get them into field-goal range to seal the victory. Instead, he managed to somehow chuck the ball backwards for a fumble that went out of bounds on second-and-3, losing 7 yards and effectively killing the drive. He then followed that up with yet another deep shot at Wan’Dale Robinson that fell incomplete on third down as the Cowboys’ secondary chose to finally play competently, and the veteran would only touch the ball once more before heaving the turnover that cemented the loss for New York.
Jaxson Dart: 1 Carry, -3 Yards
An intriguing entrance, but ultimately nothing but a tease.
Notes
- Dart entered the game at the peak of Wilson’s performance, so it was shocking that coach Brian Dabol elected to send the rookie out on the field just outside of the red zone. It was a clever ruse, however, as Dart was directed to run the option with electric fellow rookie Cam Skattebo, smartly handing the ball off to him for a chunk 24 yards. The threat of Dart’s athleticism was enough to throw off Dallas’ front seven, and it put Skattebo in perfect position to score on the next play. The rookie signal-caller would enter the game just one more time on the following drive to run the ball (a loss of 3 yards), so it was disappointing not to see him attempt a pass. Clearly, however, the coaching staff of the Giants wants to get him involved, and that’s potentially a positive sign that his time could be coming sooner rather than later.
Running Back
Cam Skattebo: 11 Carries, 45 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards
This could be the start of something fun.
Notes
- A week after being an afterthought in the RB room, the former Arizona Sun Devil put on a show, outcarrying presumptive starter Tyrone Tracy Jr. 11-5 and rushing with punishing purpose. He looked like a man on a mission, seeking out contact with every touch and requiring multiple Cowboys’ defenders to bring him down. Skattebo on one carry absolutely trucked hard-hitting safety Donovan Wilson, launching him to the ground almost effortlessly while fighting forward for more yards. His speed was questioned entering the draft, but the rookie RB torched everyone on his longest play of 24 yards on the day. A healthy 4.1 yards per carry average is nothing to scoff at, and his performance should likely garner more playing time moving forward.
Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 5 Carries, 15 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 36 Yards
A rotation of RBs in New York likely spells doom for those relying on Tracy to put up steady fantasy numbers.
Notes
- Tracy had a fairly pedestrian game on the ground, being utilized more as a receiver in this one. What likely concerned fantasy owners the most however was the fact that Devin Singletary, of all RBs, took the game’s opening carry. With the day Skattebo had, this could be the beginning of the end for Tracy as the player to own in this backfield.
Devin Singletary: 1 Carry, 4 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, -4 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Malik Nabers: 13 Targets, 9 Receptions, 167 Yards, 2 TDs
It was a rough day for the Cowboys’ defense guarding Malik Nabers — but even more so for all the fantasy owners facing him.
Notes
- The second-year receiver had a monster of a day on the road, feasting on the likes of Trevon Diggs and co. downfield. He found gap after gap in the zone coverage Dallas threw out there, and became a magnet for the long balls Wilson sent his way. In fact, both scores for Nabers came on receptions that were more than 25 yards, with his long of 48 yards absolutely dusting two Cowboys’ defenders in the endzone. It was an excellent bounce-back from Week 1’s lower numbers, and if the chemistry he and Wilson showcased here can be further built on, Nabers should have consistently ridiculous numbers all season.
Wan’Dale Robinson: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 142 Yards, TD
The Robin to Nabers’ Batman in this WR corps.
Notes
- Robinson seemed to have locked up the WR2 spot over veteran Darius Slayton entering the week, but if it was ever in question, it’s not now. Wilson looked his way downfield as often as possible, launching at Robinson every time Nabers was sufficiently covered on the play. He too was the beneficiary of the deep-ball extravaganza the Giants put on, burning Diggs and splitting the safety for his 32-yard score. I can’t say exactly if this is the beginning of some consistent play here, but for the day the young wideout’s ability was on full display.
Darius Slayton: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 61 Yards
You get a deep ball, you get a deep ball, everybody get’s a deep ball!
Theo Johnson: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 34 Yards
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Dak Prescott: 38/52, 361 Yards, 2 TDs, INT | 3 Carries, 17 Yards, FUM (Recovered)
Not as sharp, but dueled just well enough to seal the win.
Notes
- Prescott and the Cowboys took a few drives to actually get going, but he performed well enough to stave off counterpunch after counterpunch from the New York offense. It wasn’t nearly as sharp as the throws Prescott made against Philly the week prior, but the numbers were better and he was able to be the field general Dallas needed to get Aubrey into position to score.
Missed Opportunities
- Two opportunities throughout the game stood out to me. The first was Prescott’s blunder on the final play of the first half that failed to spike the ball off in time before the clock expired. He did not seem to know the status of the play clock and cost Aubrey a field-goal attempt before heading into the locker room. Points left on the board in a close game can be brutal, and he’s lucky this ultimately did not cost them the win. The second was his lack of throws in clutch moments to his best receivers. Rather than target the likes of Pickens or CeeDee Lamb, he’d throw the ball to his first read, which seemed to somehow continuously be Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert had an ugly drop that would have gained a first down in overtime, and his effort looked arguably questionable throughout the afternoon — making him as Prescott’s first read in these key moments all the more frustrating.
Running Back
Javonte Williams: 18 Carries, 97 Yards, TD | 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 33 Yards
It’s official — Dallas has a solid running game.
Notes
- Williams picked back up where he left off in the season opener against Philly and rumbled to the tune of 5.4 yards per carry and a score on the ground against New York. He looked smooth on all of his runs and the offensive line for the Cowboys consistently opened just enough of a hole up for him to barrel through, falling forward every time. After an offseason of worry and jokes about how dreadful the RB room in Dallas would be, Williams through two weeks has seemingly silenced the doubters thus far.
Miles Sanders: 5 Carries, 15 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards
Notes
- Sanders had his own statement to make after his costly fumble in Week 1, rushing for a TD of his own in relief of Williams.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
CeeDee Lamb: 11 Targets, 9 Receptions, 112 Yards
CeeDee Lamb could not let the Giants’ receivers hog all of the fun.
Notes
- It was a better day for the former Oklahoma Sooner in regards to his drops, as Lamb was a consistent factor down the stretch against New York’s secondary. His acrobatic ability was on display on multiple midrange heaves, and he was by far the most dependable option downfield for Dallas on the day.
Missed Opportunities
- The fact that Lamb had zero TDs in a 40-point effort is disappointing. Also, Lamb was the intended target on Prescott’s interception as the ball was placed in a spot that was far too reachable for Giants DB Dru Phillips.
George Pickens: 9 Targets, 5 Receptions, 68 Yards, TD
Maybe this is the start of something good.
Notes
- Pickens was targeted often across the field, and while he had a much more productive outing many of his targets appeared slightly off target. That or the defender was simply draped all over the talented wideout on the play. He also has a long wingspan but seemed far more content trying to draw a pass interference call instead of giving the effort to haul the ball in away from his body. There’s definitely still work to be done here, but Pickens performed in flashes and scored late on a nifty outside route just in front the pylon.
Jake Ferguson: 12 Targets, 9 Receptions, 78 Yards
The talented TE showed he’s still a big-name target for Dallas in space.
Notes
- Ferguson actually led all Cowboys pass catchers in targets and was second in yards receiving against New York. With the Giants down their first- and second-string interior linebackers, the young TE found weak spots in coverage across the middle and made a number of tough catches, taking a number of punishing hits along the way. There were a few drops mixed into his performance, but overall it was a productive day and one that shows he has Prescott’s trust downfield.
Kavontae Turpin: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 47 Yards, TD | 2 Carries, 6 Yards
Notes
- Turpin was efficient and consistent on the afternoon, and his usage was building before being knocked out of the game with a neck injury. He took a solid shot to the head while returning a kickoff, and would not return to action against New York. It’s encouraging that the coaching staff seemingly wants to get him and his speed more involved with the play calling, but the type of injury looms large going forward.
Jalen Tolbert: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards
Notes
- Tolbert saw more playing time after Turpin came out of the game, but there appeared to be a lack of effort on his part throughout the afternoon. The lack was noticeable even on plays where his number wasn’t called. There was a wide receiver screen that Tolbert lackadaisically blocked for and got blown up as a result, and his crucial drop aside, there were routes where you’d be forgiven if you thought he was jogging through.
Brevyn Spann-Ford: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
Luke Schoonmaker: 2 Targets