The Cowboys Did Not Outplay the Giants Sunday

The trio of Kenny Albert, Daryl “Moose” Johnston, and Tony Siragusa has called a number of Giants games the last few seasons.

Although the team the Giants have run out has varied over the years, Johnston’s halftime soliloquy has not. In one way or another, he has stressed in many games that the Giants have dominated all facets of the game, but failed to put the other team away.

Instead of referencing the opposing team stepping up in the red zone or coming through on a key turnover, he merely criticizes the team that failed to run the other team out of the building by halftime, despite having a lead.

This misperception has bothered me for years. Sure, sometimes a team can bury their opponents by halftime, but this is the NFL. Defenses step up in the red zone. Turnovers happen. Had Johnston been analyzing this past Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys grudge match, he would have serenaded the audience with the same tune, except it would be directed towards the Dallas Cowboys.

Yes, the Cowboys dominated in time of possession, nearly doubling the Giants ball control time output, but no one is looking beyond that. The Cowboys opened the game with a drive that lasted six minutes, but was cut off on a defensive stop by the Giants at their 40. Did the Giants' defense not deserve credit for making a key stop on the initial drive of the game?

Later in the first, Tony Romo led a seven-minute drive, including a group of key third down conversions. However, on a third and goal from the eight, an unblocked Clint Sintim sacked Romo to force a field goal.

Did the Cowboys miss an opportunity to make an early statement? Absolutely, but didn’t the Giants devise a scheme that allowed a talented rusher to get a free shot at Romo on a key play?

Time of possession is usually crucial for the Giants, but not in this game. Brandon Jacobs' 74-yard touchdown was more critical than any eight-minute scoring drive that could easily be terminated early with a dumb penalty or turnover. The Cowboys just put together a very efficient drive to take a 17-14 lead, but it only took the Giants one play to regain the lead.

At home, those plays loom large for momentum purposes. Sure enough, the Cowboys were unable to score until a garbage touchdown with 58 seconds left.

One of the most disturbing perspectives came from Tom Jackson on Monday Night Countdown. He’s typically very good, but his outlook regarding the Cowboys' running game was shortsighted. He said that Wade Phillips was partly to blame for the loss because he only gave the ball to the running backs 13 total times.

He claimed that after watching the Giants on Thanksgiving, there is no reason they shouldn’t have had more success on the ground.

Yet, watching the game on Sunday, the Cowboys appeared committed to the run early, but the Giants did an incredible job of getting penetration and clogging any semblance of a hole. The more they ran, the more yards the Cowboys lost on the ground. Then the Giants took a 14-point lead with five minutes left, eliminating the possibility of a running game.

In a game of this magnitude, you know both lines are going to bring it. So the fact that the Giants' run defense was as stout as the 2000 Ravens', there should be more of a credit to them than a shot at the Cowboys.

The Giants' secondary has received criticism for allowing Romo to throw for nearly 400 yards and, for the most part, it is warranted. But the Giants came into the game with a plan. If they could eliminate the big play, then the Cowboys would not be able to light up the scoreboard. They may have been able to move the ball, but the possibility of self-destruction by penalty or turnover became more likely each time the Cowboys' offense broke the huddle.

Surprisingly, the Cowboys were very disciplined on the offensive side of the ball and Romo handled the ball extremely well. But in key situations, the Giants' defense made the big play. This strategy could be likened to the Giants “intentionally” allowing Thurman Thomas to run for 100 yards on them in Super Bowl XXV.

So, no, the Giants were not outplayed. Maybe on paper it appears that way, but the Cowboys know all too well that games are not won on paper.