It’s hard to be sad after a win, but losing your starting quarterback who is leading the league in passing by over 300 yards to a season-ending injury will do it.
The keys to the Cowboys now officially belong to ten-year veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton, who played the majority of his career in Cincinnati, went in at quarterback to replace the injured Dak Prescott, who was carted off the field with a serious ankle injury. Prescott left the game having thrown for 166 yards on 14 completions. While he did not throw a touchdown in the game, he caught one from wide receiver Cedric Wilson on a trick play in the red zone.
When asked about Prescott’s injury, his teammates were all clearly heartbroken. Ezekiel Elliott, who entered the league with Prescott as rookies, scored almost immediately after the starting quarterback was carted off the field. He immediately put up four fingers to honor his friend and teammate. Elliott said after the game that the team was definitely “playing for 4” after he went down.
Jaylon Smith, one of the most vocal leaders of the team, was also feeling for Dak after the game. Smith, who suffered an injury originally deemed “career-ending” in college, said that he was confident Dak would be able to come back from his injury, saying, “Dak’s a real fighter, I know he’ll be fine.”
Dallas just cannot seem to escape the drama that seems to have been following them this season. For the fifth time in a row this season, the Cowboys have had a nail-biting ending to their game. This time, it went their way, as Greg Zurlein was able to squeak a field goal through the uprights as time expired; this was set up by two miraculous sideline catches by Michael Gallup.
Of course, this is not a win to be celebrated; and losing Dak is not the only reason for this. The defense, while it did look better than it has in previous weeks, still got exposed way more than it should have against the hapless Giants offense. Going into the matchup, the Giants had only scored three offensive touchdowns in four games. They came close to doubling that total today.
It would not be fair to talk about how bad the defense played without at least giving them some credit in terms of where they shined. The pass-rush was outstanding today, better than it has been all year. Demarcus Lawrence had his first sack in over ten games, which resulted in a fumble and then a scoop-and-score by Anthony Brown. When asked about that play, linebacker Jaylon Smith said that Brown “deserved that score,” going on to describe Brown as “one of the hardest workers in the room.”
Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan chose to call the game on the field instead of being up in the box. When asked, players like Jaylon Smith and Demarcus Lawrence were pleased with how Smith coached, citing his availability and face-to-face interactions as pluses.
The offense looked its usual self, CeeDee Lamb recorded his second 100-yard game of his short career, and Ezekiel Elliott had his best game of the season, going for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Gallup proved once again that he is an elite receiver, making two critical grabs on the game-winning drive. Also, even without Tyron Smith and La’el Collins, the offensive line held up pretty well. Rookie center Tyler Biadasz has shown while he is still young and inexperienced, he has the capability to succeed in this league.
Looking forward, obviously the biggest question mark for this team will be how well Andy Dalton handles replacing Dak Prescott, who is extremely loved in that locker room. When asked about this, running back Ezekiel Elliott said that he did not really expect the offense to change; except he doubts they will call many designed quarterback runs with Dalton under center. With the receivers being as good as they are, it’s pretty easy to agree with Elliott. Don’t expect Dak-like numbers from Dalton, but also remember that he’s no Nathan Peterman. He is an established veteran who has thrown for over 200 touchdowns in his career and took the Bengals to the playoffs four times. Dalton put up 111 passing yards today and completed nine out of eleven passes. Don’t give up hope yet, Cowboys fans, the season is not over yet.
