Monday night delivered everything that was expected of the Dallas Cowboys and Giants. The Cowboys offense was sluggish, but their defense gave them time to warm up. Daniel Jones made plays with his feet to negate some of the Cowboys' pass rush but was eventually overwhelmed by the continuous pressure. There weren't a ton of surprises, but there are still some storylines to take away from Dallas' prime-time win over New York Monday evening.
DeMarcus Lawrence is still the leader of this defense
There's an argument to be made that Micah Parsons is the best football player on earth right now. As such, he is the clear-cut best player in Dallas' defense. DeMarcus Lawrence reminded fans on Monday night, however, that he is the veteran presence, the glue that holds the Cowboys together on the defensive side of the ball. Monday was a banner night for Lawrence. In less than a half of football, Lawrence pressured Jones four times and picked up his first sack of the season. Lawrence went on to sack Jones two more times, setting a personal record for sacks in a game.
Lawrence's performance on the field was great, but it was what the Giants were capable of when he left the field that stood out. Lawrence limped to the sideline with a minor foot injury midway through the third quarter. It did not turn out to be serious and Lawrence eventually returned to the game. The problem for Dallas was that, almost immediately after Lawrence left the field, Saquon Barkley ripped through the Dallas defense for a 36-yard touchdown run to take the lead.
There's no telling if Lawrence would have helped stop that touchdown run. It wasn't even run to his side of the field. The immediate uptick in offensive efficiency as soon as he leaves the field is still indicative of exactly how valuable Lawrence is to the Cowboys on defense. He might not lead the team in sacks, but the Cowboys are significantly better when he's on the field than when he's off it.
Cooper Rush has a place in this league
Three starts into his career, Cooper Rush continues to answer the bell. First, it was in a tough road environment against the Vikings, then it was against the reigning AFC champions, and his most recent success came on a night when none of his receivers seemed interested in doing him any favors. It seems impossible that things could go this well for this long with a backup quarterback under center, but Rush keeps on proving that he is the right guy for the Cowboys to lean on while Prescott is on the mend.
Rush looked good on Monday night and his numbers reflect his performance well. 21/31 passing for 215 yards and a touchdown are perfectly reasonable numbers for a backup game manager. The truth is that those numbers should look a lot better. Just before halftime, Rush laced a perfect pass to CeeDee Lamb that should have gone for at least 40 yards if not more. The pass would have set Dallas up inside the New York 10-yard line unless Lamb managed to break a tackle and get in the end zone himself. Lamb let the pass bounce off his chest, and the Cowboys were forced to punt. Later in the game, Jalen Tolbert let a deep ball from Rush glance off his fingertips before falling to the turf as he streaked down the sideline in crunch time. It would have been a great catch if Tolbert had made it, and the rookie deserved a little slack in his pro debut, but there are plenty of receivers in the league that could have made that play.
It's important to recognize that Cooper Rush hasn't just been good enough. On Monday night, he was the best quarterback on the field. Any time that can be truthfully said about a backup, it's time for the league to start paying a little more attention.
Kellen Moore is starting to figure out how to make Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard coexist
The questions have swirled for some time now. Elliott or Pollard? Who should be the starter? Who is the future? The answers still aren't clear, but one thing that is coming into focus is the Cowboys' ability to utilize them both in the same backfield efficiently. Tony Pollard ran 13 times for 105 yards on Monday night. Elliott got 15 carries for 73 yards plus a bruising, vintage Elliott touchdown run that tied the game late in the third quarter.
Pollard got a lot of touches while the Cowboys' offense was already on the move. Those carries with the defense already on their heels had the potential to turn into big gains. Pollard's longest of the night was a 46-yard burst, his longest of the season. The Cowboys had success with their smaller, quicker running back after spreading out the defense with the passing game and opening up room to run.
Elliott was the man for the job when Dallas needed some hard yards. Elliott's third-quarter score was just what the doctor ordered for the Cowboys' offense. It energized the team and tied the game at a critical juncture, and it happened because Elliott bounced off of a couple of tacklers and through one more on his way to the end zone. Elliott finished with 43 yards after contact, and five forced missed tackles against the Giants, both his highest marks of the season so far.
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