ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys were able to complete a season sweep over the Giants, beating New York, 49-17, at AT&T Stadium to improve to 6-3.
But aside from the turnovers and touchdowns, here are some plays that might not be remembered but were significant to the final score.
Anger gets the bounce – On the Cowboys' second possession of the game, punter Bryan Anger had to punt near midfield. The ball went over the returner's head and appeared headed for the end zone before taking a sharp bounce to the left, out of bounds at the 6-yard line. That set the Giants up again with bad field position. After another three-and-out, including a sack, the Giants punted to the Cowboys, who took over at the 46-yard line and marched in for a touchdown to start the scoring.
Tyler Smith's hustle play after INT – With the Cowboys leading 7-0 late in the first quarter, Dak Prescott was picked off over the middle by Cor'Dale Flott, who looked to be on the move to potentially score before being run down by Tyler Smith at the 12-yard line. That proved to be a big tackle because the Giants then attempted four plays and couldn't score, keeping the Cowboys' lead at 7-0.
Short pass to Cooks for breathing room – Of all the big plays Brandin Cooks made in the game, a 9-yard pass out of the end zone might have been one of the biggest. The Cowboys had first down at their own 4, and Prescott had a quick pass to Cooks out to the 13. From there, the Cowboys picked up five straight first downs on five plays, leading to a scoring pass to Jake Ferguson that completed a 96-yard touchdown drive and gave Dallas a 14-0 lead.
Cooks sets up another scoring drive – For the second time in the second quarter, Prescott found Cooks on first down to ignite a drive. This time from their own 15-yard line, Prescott lofted a perfect throw over the middle to Cooks for 34 yards to the Giants' 49. That put them in position to go for another touchdown before the half ended, which they accomplished on Prescott's 10-yard scramble for a 28-0 lead.
Lamb's big reception leads to another TD – Not that a 28-7 lead in the third quarter was reason to worry, but the Giants had just scored to get on the board. The Cowboys wanted to make sure they answered, and with a third-and-5 at their own 31, Prescott found CeeDee Lamb open for a 28-yard reception to the Giants' 41. That put them in scoring position again, and on the next play, Prescott went deep to Michael Gallup for a 41-yard touchdown and a 35-7 lead.
