Eatman: Don’t Forget About These Five Plays

Carp

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ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys improved to 6-1 Sunday with a strong second-half performance to outlast the Giants for their first division win.

DeMarco Murray had a record-breaking day, Dez Bryant had clutch catches and Gavin Escobar even had two touchdown grabs.

But all games have those hidden plays that can be forgotten, but ended up playing a huge factor in the outcome. And here are a handful of plays that changed this game:

Esocobar’s first reception – The two touchdowns by Gavin Escobar will be remembered most on Sunday, but it was his first catch that led to the first score. On a third-and-five from the Giants’ 39, Escobar got open for Tony Romo over the middle. After the catch, the second-year tight end darted up the field for first-down yardage and more, totaling 24 yards to the Giants’ 15. Three plays later, Escobar finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown catch for a 7-0 lead.

Third-down slant to Dez – The Giants had just scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes, turning a 7-0 deficit into a 14-7 lead. And with the Cowboys reeling and facing third-and-6 at their 24, Romo hit Dez Bryant on an 8-yard slant for a crucial first down. That kept the drive alive and the offense did the rest, driving the rest of the way for a touchdown, capped off by Romo’s 18-yard pass to Terrance Williams to tie the game.

T. McClain with near fumble – Aside from the fact Terrell McClain likely should’ve been credited with a forced fumble on a third-quarter tackle for loss, it still proved to be a huge play in the game. The Giants took the second-half kickoff and marched to the Cowboys’ 35. On first down and all the momentum with them, Andre Williams was met behind the line by McClain, who appeared to get the ball out before his progress was stopped. Either way, the Giants’ drive was halted and eventually had to punt. That tackle for loss changed the flow, and direction of New York’s drive.

Randle’s offensive holding – With the Cowboys leading 21-14, the Giants drove to the Dallas’ 40 with a shot to tie the game late in the third quarter. On a first down receiver screen, NYG’s Ruben Randle was flagged for holding Orlando Scandrick in the flat. Instead of second-and-8 at the Cowboys’ 38, it was first-and-20 back at midfield. The Giants couldn’t overcome the yardage and had to punt.

Jones pins Giants back - There was a groan from the AT&T crowd when the Cowboys decided not to go for the first down early in the fourth quarter, facing a fourth-and-1 at the Giants’ 40. But the punt by Chris Jones was his best of the day, pinning the Giants back to their 11. Playing the field-position game worked and the Cowboys eventually got a turnover and then scored to take a 14-point lead.
 

Plan9Misfit

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We need a new punter. For every one solid kick we get from Jones, we get 2-3 shit kicks and 2-3 mediocre ones. We need more consistency out of that part of special teams.
 

Texas Ace

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We need a new punter. For every one solid kick we get from Jones, we get 2-3 shit kicks and 2-3 mediocre ones. We need more consistency out of that part of special teams.
Yup.

The guy is what he is at this point and we would be wise to look for an upgrade.
 

Cotton

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T. McClain with near fumble – Aside from the fact Terrell McClain likely should’ve been credited with a forced fumble on a third-quarter tackle for loss, it still proved to be a huge play in the game. The Giants took the second-half kickoff and marched to the Cowboys’ 35. On first down and all the momentum with them, Andre Williams was met behind the line by McClain, who appeared to get the ball out before his progress was stopped. Either way, the Giants’ drive was halted and eventually had to punt. That tackle for loss changed the flow, and direction of New York’s drive.
This was bullshit. The refs are awfully whistle-happy this year, and it has cost us big. This is the third TD that has been taken away because of this nonsense. They need to get it right.
 

jsmith6919

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Yup.

The guy is what he is at this point and we would be wise to look for an upgrade.
I agree he should be upgraded but do we really want to mess with Bailey having a new holder? I'm not sure if it would mess with him or not but I'm leery of fucking up a good thing
 

Cotton

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I agree he should be upgraded but do we really want to mess with Bailey having a new holder? I'm not sure if it would mess with him or not but I'm leery of fucking up a good thing
Was there a holder in between Jones and Romo? I honestly can't remember.
 

jsmith6919

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Cotton

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If he has had multiple holders, I don't see it as a point of emphasis to keep Jones around just for that. FP is so critical in games that we really should upgrade him and at least get some consistency in here.
 

Plan9Misfit

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This was bullshit. The refs are awfully whistle-happy this year, and it has cost us big. This is the third TD that has been taken away because of this nonsense. They need to get it right.
Especially since the ball was jarred loose upon contact with McClain. He was starting to fumble the ball before the whistle even blew.
 

Cotton

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Especially since the ball was jarred loose upon contact with McClain. He was starting to fumble the ball before the whistle even blew.
I think it's ridiculous that this can't be reviewed. Review it and even if the ball can't be advanced after the TO you get the possession right.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I think it's ridiculous that this can't be reviewed. Review it and even if the ball can't be advanced after the TO you get the possession right.
This is what I don't get. The guy was fumbling the ball before the whistle blew. In some cases that is reviewed and you get possession where you recovered the ball with no return. However on that play even though he was fumbling the ball before the whistle blew it can't be reviewed? Did Jerry not allow that group of refs on the bang bus or something? Certainly seemed like they had an agenda against the Cowboys in this game.
 

Tony D

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Especially since the ball was jarred loose upon contact with McClain. He was starting to fumble the ball before the whistle even blew.
This is true. He didn't even have possession of the ball when the whistle blew. As soon as McClain hit him he lost control of the ball.
 
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Deuce

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I agree he should be upgraded but do we really want to mess with Bailey having a new holder? I'm not sure if it would mess with him or not but I'm leery of fucking up a good thing
There's no reason we shouldn't be cross training someone as holder anyhow. Someone with good hands, like Beasley, should be getting some reps every now and again in case of emergency. Then when a real punter comes around, we can act on it.
 

jsmith6919

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There's no reason we shouldn't be cross training someone as holder anyhow. Someone with good hands, like Beasley, should be getting some reps every now and again in case of emergency. Then when a real punter comes around, we can act on it.
That's a good point, I didn't think of that but surely there has to an emergency holder that has gotten some practice time doing it.
 
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