FRISCO, Texas – Now that your Thanksgiving food is digest and you're out of your food coma, it's time for a postgame edition of "Here We Goooo," examining the three factors that led to the Cowboys 27-20 win over the New York Giants. Let's dive into it:
1. Cowboys defense feasts on Giants' offense
Week by week, it seems like Dallas' defense is getting more and more comfortable in Mike Zimmer's scheme after some signs of struggle earlier in the season. They're doing exactly what they've wanted to do the entire time: Get after the quarterback and turn the ball over.
It was another "wow" day for DeMarvion Overshown, who blew up a Giants running back in pass protection, tipped the screen pass to that same running back immediately after, and got under the ball to pick it off and run to the endzone for his first NFL touchdown. Aside from that play, he added on nine tackles and is continuing to show his teammates that he's a special talent.
"I told y'all from the beginning he was gonna be a dude," Micah Parsons said postgame. "From his rookie year, before the injury, I said, 'That will be an All-Pro, Pro Bowl type of player. I'm just happy that he's finally showing it. I saw it from the beginning."
Parsons himself devoured the Giants offensive line, generating 6 pressures on 36 pass rushes with 1.5 sacks on Drew Lock. In his 22 matchups against Giants tackle Evan Neal, he generated three pressures and a sack, taking less than 2.5 seconds to get to the quarterback on all three pressures.
As a unit, the Cowboys had six sacks, five tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hits, beating up the Giants offense for a majority of the game and forcing them to struggle on 3rd down too, where New York converted just three of 12. With two wins and two good performances propelling them forward, confidence is high.
"I believe we're gonna turn it around and make a run.…" Parsons said to Erin Andrews postgame on FOX. "I'm telling y'all right now, we coming."
2. Rico gets fed well against New York's run defense
The Cowboys run game has struggled to get going for most of the season, but Rico Dowdle is starting to get into rhythm and showed that with a career-high 112 rushing yards on 22 carries and his first rushing touchdown of the season, good for 5.1 yards per carry. The last two weeks, he's tallied 198 yards on 41 carries, coming out at 4.8 yards per carry.
Those aren't numbers that are going to blow you away, but even that much success in the run game opens up the playbook for Mike McCarthy, and gives an offensive line that has seen a lot of moving parts confidence that they're getting push up front.
"This team needs that," McCarthy said of the Cowboys' rushing performance on Thursday. "We need to run the football not only for our offense, but for our football team."
Dowdle didn't just set a career high in rushing yards, he also had his career best day in several advanced statistical metrics too. He recorded a career high 44 rushing yards over expected, the second time he's been over his rushing yards expected total this season, both times against the Giants. Most of his production came running inside the tackles, where he picked up 74 yards and his touchdown on 10 carries.
And probably the most welcoming career-high for Dowdle: Forcing nine missed tackles. It's a testament to Dowdle but also the offensive line, who he was proud of for creating rushing lanes despite plenty of injuries.
"Very impressive, if you watch last week and this week, I think those guys did a hell of a job up front," Dowdle said. "That just comes with the preparation that those guys put in and staying ready for when their opportunity comes and making the most of it."
3. Complimentary football with a side of turnovers
Playing complimentary football is the best thing you can serve to a football coach on Thanksgiving, and Mike McCarthy got it on a silver platter from the Cowboys.
Offensively, they didn't turn the ball over, went seven of 15 on third down, and generated 317 total yards of offense. They won the time of possession battle 31:36 to 28:24. Cooper Rush was kept upright the entire game despite two backup offensive linemen playing most of the time.
All of that complimented the defense, who held the Giants to just 247 total yards of offense and forced them into two turnovers, something that Dallas had really struggled a majority of the season to find. If they're now able to find a way to consistently turn the ball over, it'll make for a lot more complimentary performances.
The best part of Thanksgiving for the Cowboys? They've got two division wins in five days, and now have 10 days until their next game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. That extra break will help Dallas get healthy, and with more of their playmakers back, could there be a third semester season turnaround?
