By Danielle McCartan (@CoachMcCartan and www.Facebook.com/CoachMcCartan)

BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. – On Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys issued the New York Giants a technical knockout on the third play of the game: a 64-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Dak Prescott to wide receiver Tavon Austin. Giants’ cornerback Janoris Jenkins slipped in coverage and that was all she wrote: Austin was off to the races. After the game, Head Coach Pat Shurmur said, of the play: “You’d rather they don’t. We want to score early but you just keep playing your way out of it.”

Not much went right for the Giants last night including the fact that quarterback Eli Manning was sacked six times (the most in a single game since 2014). The Giants are now tied for fourth place (with the Green Bay Packers) in most sacks allowed (8) through week two of this season.  At his locker after the game, offensive lineman Nate Solder told reporters: “They blitzed. They ran stunts. They rushed four. They did a number of things and we didn’t pick up any of it.”  Only the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers have allowed more sacks through week two.

.@OBJ on the performance of the offense Sunday night #NYGvsDAL pic.twitter.com/xsjjIUfNq1

— New York Giants (@Giants) September 17, 2018

The Giants’ anemic offense has only scored two touchdowns in two games including last night, when Manning tossed a meaningless 18-yard touchdown completion to tight end Evan Engram with 1:27 remaining in the game. Odell Beckham remarked: “They just outplayed us. Plain and simple. They just came out and beat us.”

On September 13, I posted my keys to victory for Dallas Cowboys.  They hit on all three.

✅ Dak Prescott: I wrote that the Cowboys needed Prescott to return to 2016 form.  In 2016, his quarterback rating was a 95.1.  Last night, it was a 95.4 (16 for 25, 16 yards, 64% completion, 1 touchdown AND 7 rushes for 45 yards).

✅ Run the ball: With seventeen rushes for 78 yards and a touchdown, the Cowboys got exactly what they needed from running back Ezekiel Elliott.  In fact, he finished in fifth place among all rushers for week 2.

✅ Prevent a shootout: Holding the Giants to a total of 13 points (scoreless in the first half) certainly qualifies as ‘preventing a shootout’.

The 0-2 Giants will travel back to Texas on Sunday to take on the Houston Texans (also 0-2) at 1pm. Stay tuned for my game preview later in the week.  It is a must-win game for both teams.

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