Dallas Cowboys: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Week One

A few observations from the Dallas Cowboys win over the New York Football Giants. There was some good, some bad and some downright ugly play.

In the second game of the Fox doubleheader, the Dallas Cowboys routed the New York Giants for their first win of the season. Let’s go over the good, the bad and the ugly of the first regular season game.

First, the good – part one. When you have a perfect quarterback rating for the game you did a few good things.  Quarterback Dak Prescott’s debut in his fourth season was the second time a Dallas Cowboys quarterback had a perfect quarterback rating in a regular season game.

Prescott was decisive and generous with his throws. He found seven different receivers on his way to 25 completions in 32 attempts day for 405 yards – a Cowboys record in the first game of the season.

On the Cowboys second drive of the third quarter, Prescott made a big time throw to wide receiver Michael Gallup on third down and 8 from the Cowboys 13 yard line.  With about 15 seconds left on the play clock, Prescott made some adjustments to the play communicating with his offense.

Gallup flanked out to Prescott’s left with three receivers on the right and fullback Jamize Olawale in the backfield. Gallup ran an eight route where he made his in cut about six yards past the line of scrimmage. Prescott targeted him about 14 yards down field where Gallup had two steps on Giants first round draft pick corner Deandre Baker.

Gallup made the catch in stride and weaved his way down field for a further 48 yards after the catch. From the snap, there were two things Prescott did very well. First, he progressed from his front side read on the right to find an open Gallup on the left side. Second, he delivered an accurate ball that allowed Gallup to catch without breaking stride for the 62 yard reception.

On a day where a lot went well for the Cowboys, this play should leave Cowboys fans excited about the Cowboys offense potential. And now, the good part two.

The Cowboys offense had significant pre-snap motion in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s debut game. The motion was effective in tipping the Giants coverage whether it was man to man or zone allowing Prescott to determine the weakness of the coverage before the snap. The Cowboys still need to master this new part of their offense as an illegal shift penalty negated a 15 yard Ezekiel Elliott run in the second quarter.

Moore, the 30-year-old second year NFL coach and former Cowboys quarterback, earns the second good nomination. The offense looked dynamic using multiple sets using frequent substitution to bring confusion to the Giants defense.

And now for the bad. On the Cowboys second defensive snap of the game, Giants running back Saquon Barkley ran off tackle to his left. Defensive end Tyrone Crawford washed down the line losing contain.

Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch filled the wrong hole, safety Xavier Woods was blocked and corner Anthony Brown ran himself out of the play. No worries, safety Jeff Heath was in position to make the tackle.

Heath, playing center field 14 yards off the line of scrimmage, makes the correct read and forces Barkley to make an outside cut. Problem was Heath lost his momentum when he forced the cut and Barkley was easily able to out run him to the sideline despite Heath having seven yards of separation to take the correct angle. On a team with Super Bowl aspirations, safety play could be the Achilles heel for the team.

At least the ugly comes from Big Blue. On a day where the Cowboys offense scored 35 points and the defense played decent, the ugly comes from the New York Giants.

The defensive secondary for the Giants was over matched all day. The Cowboys schemed receivers open – tight end Blake Jarwin and wide receiver Randall Cobb’s touchdown being the perfect examples.

When the scheme didn’t win, the wide receivers were constantly separating themselves from all Giants, in particular rookie Deandre Baker who was burned on Amari Cooper’s touchdown and Gallup’s 62 yard reception.

The Dallas Cowboys find themselves with a win after Week One. Now they are on to Washington to face another NFC East rival, the Redskins, for Week Two.