The NY Giants finally end their winless drought against the Dallas Cowboys in a big win on a cold day at MetLife.
What a game.
The NFC East was meant to be decided in a hard-fought, defensive-heavy, back-and-forth game. At the end, it was the NY Giants who prevailed through the wind, rain, and cold to put themselves in the best position to become NFC East champs.
Unfortunately, Alex Smith was able to lead the Washington Football Team to victory in Philadelphia, giving Washington the division title and a trip to the playoffs.
The Giants’ win over the Dallas Cowboys was a total team effort, though not particularly a total game played. The Giants’ offense played some of their best football in the first half, while the Giants’ defense made Andy Dalton look every bit of a backup quarterback.
That 14-6 first-half lead was important for the Giants. In the second half, the defense grew tired and struggled to stop Dalton, Ezekiel Elliott, and the rest of the Cowboys offense as they outscored the Giants 10-3 in order to close the gap.
A large part of that sluggish Giants’ defense was the fault of the Giants’ offense, which turned the ball and the momentum over to the Cowboys in the second half, and struggled to put up any points.
But the offense was able to capitalize on a big mistake. And the defense, from veterans to rookies who proved that they will be the strength of this team going forward, made big plays late to hold the Cowboys at bay.
While mistakes almost cost the Giants the game, there were plenty of players from the offense and defense to praise. We can’t get to them all, but let’s take a look at a handful of the players who were responsible for the Giants’ first win over the Cowboys in four years.
WR Sterling Shepard
Grade: A
Fresh off of an MVP performance last week, Sterling Shepard continued to show how important he could be for this offense and Daniel Jones going forward.
Shepard brought in 8 of 10 targets, and was the only Giants’ receiver who caught more than two passes. He racked up 112 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, and ran for 24 yards on two carries, one of which was another first down.
Again, Shepard showed drive after drive that he is the crispest Giants’ route runner. He averaged 14 yards per catch, with a long of 21, and made his presence felt all over the field. Shepard also made up ground to catch anything near him, often needing to end his route early and come back for the ball on a few particularly inaccurate passes from Jones.
Shepard has been a sure thing for Jones, which is absolutely vital for the sophomore quarterback to have any chance to succeed. Outside Darius Slayton and Evan Engram — who each had four targets but just two catches and drops, none worse than Engram’s that caused an interception — Jones stuck to throwing it Shepard’s way all game.
Shepard broke 100+ receiving yards for the first time this season, and for the first time since Week 8 of 2019. It also marks Shepard’s first multi-touchdown game, his first career rushing touchdown, and the first time he’s gone back-to-back games scoring since Week 3 and Week 4 of 2018.
Shepard has fought the injury bug his whole career, only playing in 16 games twice in five seasons. While he’s healthy, though, he makes a strong case for one of the league’s best slot receiver.
The Giants will need to center their arial attack on a better number one option. Whether by draft or by free agency, this season has proved how desperately they lack a true big-body receiver.
And if they do, it won’t help just Jones develop, but it’ll take some pressure away from Shepard, who is a staple for this offense going forward.
C Nick Gates
Grade: A
There’s nothing better than a trash-talking lineman who can actually get results. Nick Gates got results in the Giants win over Dallas.
Gates was chirpy all game. And after the first few drives, it became evident that he was going to continue to get into the faces and heads of his opponents.
By doing so, he managed to get a penalty called in his favor. Gates was on top of the pile (and he might have jumped on just a tad late) when Dallas’ Randy Gregory threw a late shoulder into Gates. Gregory was called for unnecessary roughness, which moved the Giants 15 yards. The Giants would go on to score on that drive.
He also saw results in the run game. The Giants’ rushed for 125 yards. RB Wayne Gallman made up the majority of the Giants’ rush game with 11 carries for 65 yards. He averaged 5.9 a carry, most of which went right up the gut, right behind the center.
While the Cowboys’ rushing defense came into the game last in the league, they still have formidable defensive players. But Gates in particular was able to continuously push the line of scrimmage through toughness and determination in his fights in the trenches.
The Giants win when their running game does well. Gates helped in all facets of Sunday’s win, and will hopefully be a strong anchor for the offensive line going forward.
CB Julian Love
Grade: A
The Giants secondary has made major strides this season. In this game, they returned to playing mostly man coverage. And Julian Love showed he should be considered at corner going forward.
Love came into this game fourth on the team in tackles, and he added another seven onto that total. He also added another pass deflection from this game.
Love also came close to an interception. On the Cowboys’ third drive of the game, Love nearly hauled in a pass that was intended for Amari Cooper. That came after Love made a beautiful open field tackle on CeeDee Lamb on the first play of that drive. Dallas went three and out that drive.
His one pass deflection came a few drives later. He deflected a high pass that was originally intended to Michael Gallup. After that, Pro Bowler James Bradberry also broke up a pass intended for Gallup. The Cowboys again went three and out.
The switch to man coverage was a departure from what the Giants’ secondary was used to throughout this season. But it worked out great. The secondary’s ability to hold coverage forced Andy Dalton, someone known for getting the ball out quick, to hold onto the ball far longer than planned.
But even more importantly, when Dalton would throw their way, the secondary, and especially Love, made plays. Dalton only averaged 5.2 yards per completion, and he threw an interception. His rating was 66.2.
Having big-name members in the secondary, like Bradberry and Logan Ryan, means quarterbacks might plan to throw the ball the other way. Love has shown this year that he’s capable and ready for when they do.
LB Tae Crowder
Grade: A
Tae Crowder might have been the last selected player in the 2020 draft, but as he showed in this game, he’s been anything but Mr. Irrelevant.
Much has been said about how important the addition of Blake Martinez has been to this resurgent Giants’ defense. What should also be reminded is how having a playmaker like Martinez opens up opportunity for others to prove their worth.
Crowder has used that opportunity to shine. He came into Sunday’s game starting just five games for the Giants, while playing in 10. Crowder has seen more than half of the defensive snaps in the majority of those games. The only times he didn’t came in Week 2 and 3, when he was primarily used for special teams, and in Week 12’s win over Cincinnati.
He’s making the most of his time, too. He came into the game ninth on the Giants’ defense in tackles with 46. He also had a sack, two tackles for loss, a pass deflection, a fumble recovery which went for a touchdown.
And in this game, Crowder led the Giants with 11 tackles, one of which was for a loss.
Martinez will be the who teams worry about most when they play the Giants’ defense, but Crowder has shown glimpses of his ability this year.
Head coach Joe Judge’s pedigree is in special teams. And he must have seen something to shift Crowder’s role from a special team’s player at the start of the season to a true defensive player for the last six weeks.
With a full offseason to learn and to improve, Mr. Irrelevant is likely to be a key member of the Giants’ defense going forward.
MVP: DE Leonard Williams
The next player to be signed long-term by David Gettleman better be Leonard Williams.
He has been one of the central figures on the Giants’ defense. He came into the game leading the team with 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. He added another three sacks in this game, and another three tackles for loss. He also added another five QB hits to his total.
Williams’ presence was seen early in the Giants’ victory. On the Cowboys’ second drive of the game, Williams tipped a pass at the line, which brought up a third and long. He then sacked Dalton on the very next play, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal.
He continued making big plays. On the Cowboys’ fourth drive, he stopped Dalton from scrambling for a first down to cause a three and out.
In the second half, Williams would rack up two more sacks, the biggest one being at the end of the game on a first and goal for the Cowboys. The sack was huge, but Williams’ pressure on Dalton on the next play directly caused an interception, which sealed the win for the Giants.
The sacks are the flashy numbers for defensive ends. But Williams all season has been a disrupter for opposing offenses. And many of the things Williams does on a game-to-game basis don’t come up on the stat sheet.
His ability to play the run forces teams to abandon it. Dalton out rushed Ezekiel Elliott because the Giants’ defensive line held the superstar rusher in check all game. Elliott finished with just 42 yards, averaging 3 yards a carry.
And after he’s done forcing teams to throw it, he gets into their faces.
He came into this game with 25 QB hits, tied for his career best. He was sixth in the NFL in the category, and after Sunday’s game he’s likely to gain some ground; Only T.J. Watt and Carl Lawson had 30+ going into this week.
The continuous pressures and hits from Lawrence throw the quarterback’s timing off, and if nothing else, show that Williams is getting closer and closer.
He’s had a career year on a defense that should only improve with more time spent together. But it’s vital for him to remain a Giant, since Williams is a key part of that puzzle.
He signed a one-year deal worth $16 million before this season. And as great as he’s played, the Giants still only won six games. If he walks after this year it will be for nothing.
But if Gettleman can get a deal done, it will solidify as a good deal one of his more head-scratching moves. What’s more, it will solidify the Giants’ defense as a powerhouse for years to come.