EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Heading into every game, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s goal is to complete 80 percent of his passes. The first three games of the season, that number never reached 70.
Thursday night against the New York Giants, Prescott posted one of the highest of his career, 81.5 percent. It was the 21st time he has finished with a completion percentage of 77 or higher. The Cowboys remain undefeated in those games, winning Thursday night 20-15 at MetLife Stadium.
“I think Coach (Mike McCarthy) usually says 70 percent,” Prescott said. “I shoot for 80. Trust me, the last three weeks I’ve been disappointed. Now I’ve got to go for 90, I guess.”
Having lost their previous two games, the Cowboys badly needed a win against a New York Giants team that Prescott hasn’t lost to since his 2016 rookie season. It wasn’t a blowout like Dallas’ two games last year against the Giants, winning them by a combined 89-17 score. This New York team is better than a year ago and the Cowboys aren’t playing as well as they did during the 2023 season. There are plenty of issues that remain on both sides of the ball. But winning Thursday is important for several reasons, most notably they avoided what could’ve been a catastrophic loss. If the Cowboys can’t beat the Giants, how is anyone expecting them to beat their next three opponents: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions or San Francisco 49ers? If they lost each of those, all of a sudden they would be looking at a 1-6 start to the season. So, Thursday night was about as must-win as a game can get in September.
To right the ship in any way from a pair of brutal performances against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, Dallas needed Prescott to be at his best. And he certainly was in the first half, completing 14 of 16 passes for 164 yards, two touchdowns and a 149.0 passer rating.
“Just thought Dak did a really good job taking what they gave him,” McCarthy said. “They played a lot more two-high (safeties), keep the lid on it. … I just thought he was really patient, just getting through his reads. And just had an opportunity, had to step up and make some plays in the pocket with his feet. I thought Dak played very well.”
It was clear on the first two offensive series that the plan was to get CeeDee Lamb involved early and often. He was visibly frustrated with his play on Sunday and was determined to make up for it the next time he was on the field. Dallas’ superstar wide receiver was targeted six times on the first three series. He caught five of those passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
“Obviously getting started early is important,” Lamb said. “Getting a feel for the game, seeing how they’re covering me. And then kind of exposing their hand early. It felt good.”
The play of the game came on the third series when Lamb saw single coverage from Giants cornerback Deonte Banks along the Cowboys’ sideline. Lamb got behind Banks and Prescott delivered a precise throw to Lamb before safety help could come his way. Lamb did the rest with his feet, using his speed to easily cap off the 55-yard score.
“I think that was the only one-on-one I got all game, and we exploited it,” Lamb said. “If they’re going to give me one-on-one coverage then I feel like that’s personally disrespectful, but I love it.”
When Prescott saw the coverage, he knew his job was to look off the safety and give Lamb an accurate throw.
“He beat the guy pretty clean at the line, so I didn’t want to put too much air on it,” Prescott said. “Got to take advantage of those one-on-one opportunities, and we did that. Able to get him the ball, he went and broke the tackle. It felt good to get him off to a fast start.”
Although there aren’t many opportunities like that for Lamb each game, Prescott said he didn’t put any extra pressure on himself to make sure everything was perfect.
“Just playing the play,” he said. “Not a lot of can’ts, don’ts, won’ts go through my head, really at any point. In my head, honestly, I’m like, ‘Are you really about to press him and leave him one-on-one? No safety is getting over the top?’ So, once the ball was snapped and he didn’t, it was just about making the throw.”
The offense didn’t have nearly as much success in the second half. They managed to get in position for field goals on three of their four possessions. The other time they went three and out. The running game continued to struggle. Rico Dowdle led the way with 46 yards on 11 carries. Ezekiel Elliott added five attempts for 19 yards. But the group’s 3.5 yards per carry is more of what has been on display the first three weeks. The running-back-by-committee approach could get a boost from veteran Dalvin Cook being active in the upcoming weeks. However, at this point, no one should be surprised if that leads to more of the same. The best run Thursday night was probably the time Lamb lined up in the backfield and carried for 10 yards on the second series.
The offensive line deserves its share of the blame. That group remains a work in progress. Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton put himself in position to draw too many holding calls against the Giants. Dallas also still needs other pass catchers to play a bigger role. Jalen Tolbert caught all three of his targets. Brandin Cooks had only one catch on four targets.
Plenty of issues still need to be resolved, but Prescott and Lamb were bright spots. The Cowboys must build on those performances. The Prescott accuracy has to continue, especially against better opponents. There were times Thursday night where it was easy to wonder: Is Dallas playing better than the previous two games or are these just the benefits of playing the Giants? Beating New York again allowed Prescott to become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to register 13 consecutive wins against an opponent, joining Bob Griese (17 against the Buffalo Bills from 1968-79), Steve Young (13 against the Los Angeles Rams from 1987-98) and Tom Brady (13 against the Bills from 2003-10).
It’s a win that can be taken for granted, but Prescott insisted that the result will be “huge” for the team’s momentum.
“Especially when you compare it to the alternative,” he added. “What that would have been like. It was huge. A young team, young linemen, just understanding the impact that (reporters), what your jobs do have on young players. Got to turn the narrative. Got to change the narrative. That’s what this game did, especially over a long weekend. Puts us at 2-2, allows us a couple days to get our body right, mind right. If guys want to read about themselves in this team, it’s all positive hopefully. I ask you (reporters) to make it positive. Keep their confidence right and just allow to build momentum. Played on a bunch of different teams, and some that when you got going, it just gets hot. That’s what we’re looking to do.”
