That was a lot more like it.
Coming off the disappointing loss to the Eagles the concern for a Dallas letdown was there. The Cowboys showed few signs of a letdown on Sunday.
The redzone play-calling – and personnel – was concerning in the early going.
Tony Pollard might not be the back to hand the ball to on the goal line. Rico Dowdle looks better suited for that duty.
Maybe even a look or two by the team’s fullback, Hunter Luepke, ala Daryl “Moose” Johnston?
But once Dallas did find the endzone they never stopped. A 49-17 beatdown of the Giants was just what they needed.
The Cowboys schedule remains favorable and the Eagles still have some tough sledding ahead.
The battle for the NFC East is on and Dallas needs eight more games just like this one.
Giant Punching Bag
The Cowboys have outscored the Giants 89-17 this season. They had a scoreless streak of 97:01 snapped by the Giants’ score with 8:07 left in the third quarter.
The last time the Giants had put points on the board prior to that touchdown came with eight seconds left in the game on Nov. 24, 2022.
The 72-point margin of victory is the highest in a season-sweep of an NFC East rival.
The old mark was set in 1969 with 66 points against the Eagles. In 1966 Dallas swept the Giants by 55 points.
Dallas has now won 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Giants and six in a row overall.
The Cowboys have won the last seven home games and 10 of the last 11.
Dallas leads the overall series 75-47-2 and are 41-21-1 at home against the Giants. It was also Dallas’ 12th straight home win overall.
Empire State Blues
The Cowboys are now 3-0 against teams from the Empire State this season.
In addition to the two-game sweep over the Giants, Dallas defeated the Jets 30-10 in Week 2.
The Cowboys can finish the New York sweep with a win over the Bills in Buffalo next month.
By The Numbers
The Cowboys are now 33-26-1 all-time in Week 10 games, with the bye weeks and one game lost to a strike in 64 seasons.
Dallas is 14-11-1 at home in Week 10. They also improved to 7-3 over the Giants and 21-10-1 against the NFC East in Week 10.
Dak Prescott was nearly flawless with 404 yards and four touchdown passes. He also ran for a score.
His only blemish was an early interception but the Giants failed to cash in on the error.
CeeDee Lamb became the first receiver in NFL history to record three straight games with 10 or more catches for more than 150 yards.
Lamb finished with 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Well, Hello There, Where Ya Been?
Brandin Cooks had a breakout game with 173 yards and a touchdown on nine catches. Michael Gallup had two catches for 70 yards and a score.
Coming into Sunday’s game Cooks had 17 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the season.
Gallup hadn’t scored a touchdown all year before Sunday and struggled on 50-50 balls. His two catches were contested and he went after both balls.
It was nice to see both receivers in the mix.
Why Do We Even Have Replay?
The purpose of instant replay is to get the call correct. Far too often though, the “no conclusive evidence” excuse is aired to let a call stand.
Personally, I think they’re trying not to show up the officials.
The only change I’d like to see in the NFL is to adopt the college system of letting the official in the booth call for a review.
But college football had a bad weekend with replay in my opinion. Two calls were allowed to “stand” and both should have been overturned.
The only saving grace is that neither impacted the outcome. That doesn’t excuse the replay officials in the slightest.
In the Texas Tech-Kansas game on Saturday, Kansas quarterback Cole Ballard was awarded a first down at the 30.
The problem was he was knocked down with his back facing the 30 and there was green grass between his body and the line.
The football was tucked into his belly, well short of the line to gain. Replay upheld the spot.
Later on Saturday, Miami’s defense sacked Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis in the endzone.
The ball was not past the goal line. Instead of Miami getting two points and the ball in great position, replay ruled that somehow the ball should be spotted at the one.
There have been similar missed calls in the NFL over the years. They need to fix the system.
Either get the calls right without leaning on ambiguity and “inconclusive evidence” or scrap it and live with the human error.
Because sometimes it seems the decisions are based on who it impacts more than what actually happened.
