The Morning After, Wk 10 - A Giant Mismatch
Dak Prescott still has not lost to the Giants since his rookie season in 2016.
There was a time in this game – very early, mind you – when Dallas appeared to be unsure of itself. The Cowboys entered the game knowing what they were up against and for a few moments, ran into some resistance.
On the first drive, the Cowboys waltzed down the field, only to encounter their red zone issues one more time. What appeared to be an easy touchdown if Dak Prescott keeps the ball, instead was a Tony Pollard run that fell inches short of the goal-line.
Then, a very quick three-and-out on the next opportunity after they were given the ball at nearly midfield. The Giants had very little offensive firepower, but there is no question that they would be happy to stay in the game if Dallas would be so kind as to allow such a thing.
Finally, late in the first quarter, the Giants had pushed their luck and this time given the Cowboys another end zone punt that started the third drive on the New York side of the field. It only took five plays for the Cowboys to draw first blood with a CeeDee Lamb end-around for 14 yards and a touchdown.
Down 7-0, the hapless Giants and third-string QB Tommy DeVito achieved their only first down of the entire half on the third series as they were allowed to operate with the ball way out at their own 25-yard line for a change. They would navigate all the way to their own 40-yard line before punting a third time.
The Giants last gasp at giving us a reasonably interesting afternoon of football would occur on the final play of the first quarter. It would be a Cowboys third down at their own 25-yard line to start their fourth drive and one which Dallas called a timeout to make sure they were on the same page.
The play is fascinating to study as Dallas is going to use a somewhat familiar tactic of putting Lamb in motion and into the left slot. He will be right outside Jason Ferguson and they will use proximity to allow Dak a chance to focus in the same sector to move the chains. The Lamb skinny post will be paired with a Ferguson out past the sticks.
The motion will determine if the Giants are playing man coverage and then Lamb will take Giants slot corner Cordale Flott out of the area where Ferguson is going to be with his route. But, when Prescott waits for Lamb to clear – and notices there is a safety on top of Lamb, too, he calculates double coverage so he comes down to the backup option of Ferguson who has leverage on his man. This is pitch and catch usually and barely a footnote on the proceedings.
Instead, Flott was not playing man. The Giants weren’t either. They took the risky chances of showing man pre-snap as part of an ambush that could only be used in this sort of situation. Third down and medium, I am sure Wink Martindale and the Giants knew they could probably only use this plan once, so wait for the perfect spot to spring this trap if Dallas played to its tendencies. Due to the circumstances, the “best spot” happened to be the final play of the first quarter. The plan worked as Flott came from the blindside of Ferguson and stepped in front of the pass for an interception.