3 huge Giants mistakes that helped the Cowboys win on Thanksgiving

The Dallas Cowboys were heavily favored coming into this matchup. At one point, they were favored by up to 10.5 points depending on the sportsbook.

To be fair, it made sense. The Cowboys were coming off of one of the most complete and dominating wins they’ve had in quite some time against the formerly 8-1 Minnesota Vikings. The Giants, on the other hand, suffered an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Lions that also saw them lose several key players to the injury report.

For the first two quarters of football, the Cowboys looked subpar, to say the least. Dak Prescott had some costly interceptions. The defense wasn’t getting to Daniel Jones nearly as much as they were against a much better quarterback in Kirk Cousins. And, by far the most continually frustrating part was the penalties. 

At one point in the broadcast, Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen even joked that it seemed like there was a penalty every four seconds and that the refs just wanted to get screen time.

Thankfully, after a lackluster first half, the Cowboys were able to do what they love to do — make halftime adjustments. This team has a knack for getting their act together in the third and fourth quarters.

At the end of the day, the Cowboys are up 8-3, which firmly plants them in second place in the NFC East and helps them inch closer to the Eagles who have looked more beatable lately than they did in the first part of the season.

Back-to-back touchdowns from Dalton Schultz and an impressive hurdle move from rookie TE Jake Ferguson helped put some oomph back into the Cowboys in the second half.

However, the Giants made a few costly mistakes that allowed Dallas to not only get back into things but run away with it altogether. Let’s look at three mistakes that allowed the Cowboys to win this game.

3 Giants mistakes that allowed the Cowboys to win on Thanksgiving

3. Barkley’s costly 4th down drop

After the half, the Cowboys got the ball and put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ate up seven minutes and 39 seconds of clock to put themselves back on top again.

With Dallas only up by one point and a chance for New York to get back on top, the Giants decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 45. Going for it on fourth down wasn’t the issue. The problem was the execution of the play.

With just over four minutes to go in the third and the play clock winding down quickly, Daniel Jones took the shotgun snap and dropped back. He had Saquon Barkley open for what should have been an easy first down and potentially a go-ahead touchdown.

Instead, Jones underthrew a wide-open Barkley, which caused him to fall to the ground without the ball and give the Cowboys possession with great field position.

All the Giants QB had to do was lead his running back so that he could catch the ball on the run. With Barkley’s speed, the chances of him getting past linebacker Leighton Vander Esch were presumably high, which could have resulted in not only a continued possession but potentially a huge gain or even a touchdown.

To add insult to injury, on the very next Dallas drive, the Cowboys were able to successfully run what looked like the same exact play to Ezekiel Elliott.

2. Darnay Holmes Holding Penalty Leads to DAL TD

Giants fans aren’t going to like this one.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Cowboys were facing a 3rd and 7 down 13-7 in the game. CeeDee Lamb ran down the field closely covered by Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes. Apparently, the referees thought it was a little too close as far as coverage off the line of scrimmage goes.

The referees didn’t believe Holmes gave Lamb enough space to run his route and threw down what felt like the thousandth yellow flag of the evening. The call on the field was holding on Holmes.

Many argued it was a debatable call and didn’t think Holmes completely kept Lamb from being able to run his route.

I guess the Giants now know what it’s like to have questionable calls made against them, too.

This was more than just another penalty on the day, though. This holding call gave the Cowboys an automatic first down, which allowed them to go on and score a touchdown nine plays later.

If Holmes didn’t commit this penalty, the Cowboys would’ve been forced to punt and wouldn’t have started their 21-0 run in the second half. It may have been a questionable call, but it had a huge impact on the game.

1. Poor Coverage Choice for Dalton Schultz

The first of the three touchdowns that put the Giants away in this game was a 3rd and goal touchdown to tight end Dalton Schultz. It was the Holmes penalty we just spoke about that led to this play nine plays later.

The problem here is that this felt like a clear mismatch in coverage.

Schultz is a 6-foot-5, 244-pound tight end who is known to be a security blanket, especially in the end zone, for Dak Prescott. For some reason, the Giants thought it would be a good idea to line him up against a 6-foot-0, 193-pound second-year cornerback on a play that was clearly going to be a pass to the end zone.

Kellen Moore likely saw the size mismatch as it felt clear from the line of scrimmage that the ball was going to Schultz. Prescott evaded the pass rush and threw a 50/50 ball up into the endzone confident that his tight end would be able to make the play.

Sure enough, Schultz lept right over McCloud and brought in the touchdown to put the Cowboys ahead. From there, Dallas would never look back.

One can only assume that Wink Martindale will regret having sent his second-year, 6-foot CB to go up against a guy five inches taller than him in the endzone when he goes back and watches this game film later.

It may not have been the blowout we all expected, but the Cowboys got a much-needed victory to have them sitting pretty at 8-3 on the year.

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