EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Cowboys had a couple of dazzling touchdowns catches and another 60-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey.
And they were able to scratch and claw their way to a 20-15 win over the Giants. Like always, though, there were some hidden plays that might've changed the outcome if they went the other way.
Giants facemask on Bellinger – On the Giants' first drive of the game, a big pass play to Malik Nabers had them in position to strike, but a personal-foul facemask call on the Giants' Daniel Bellinger pushed New York back behind the chains. Now facing second-and-18, the Giants could only muster a couple of completions that led to a field goal, one of five on the night. But it was an overall theme that the Giants weren't going to find the end zone.
Completion to Luepke on third down – Down 3-0 on the Cowboys' second offensive drive, the momentum was leaning heavily toward the Giants. Dallas was able to move the sticks when Dak Prescott stepped up and fired a pass to Hunter Luepke for an 11-yard gain. That kept the drive alive and the Cowboys eventually scored on a screen pass to Rico Dowdle for a 7-3 lead.
Overshown tackle on the 3 – Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was all over the field, making plays on defense and special teams. But a tackle on Wan'Dale Robinson in the open field at the 3-yard line once again kept the Giants out of the end zone. It was a third-and-goal play at the 8, and Overshown's tackle not only got Robinson down, he made sure the New York receiver didn't get closer to the goal line, which prevented the Giants from attempting to go for it on fourth down. Instead, it led to a fourth field goal and kept the Cowboys in the lead, 14-12.
Back-to-back tackles for loss – Once again, the Cowboys defense had a bend-but-don't-break method early in the fourth quarter. The Giants were driving to the Dallas 20-yard line, but on consecutive plays, Amani Oruwariye had a tackle for loss and then a stop of Devin Singletary that led to another field goal by the Giants, keeping them down, 17-15.
Zeke picks up 7 on first down – Taking a secondary role all night, Ezekiel Elliott only played in spot-duty, but he had a huge play late in the game. With the Cowboys taking over on downs at the Giants' 45-yard line with 3:21 remaining, Elliott picked up seven yards on first down, which was a huge gain considering the Giants were loading up to stop the run. That led to a New York timeout, but put the Cowboys in position to get a first down on two more plays. By the time the Giants got the ball back after the missed field goal, there were only 28 seconds left. Getting seven yards on first down set up that sequence of events.
