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Gosselin: Hold your breath, Cowboys fans; defense is out of gas
Rick Gosselin
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — If this is any indication how the rest of the season will play out for the Cowboys, hold your breath.
No question that the offense is playoff-ready — and certainly Philadelphia Eagles-ready for the Thanksgiving showdown for the NFC East lead.
But this defense … The less this defense plays, the better I like it. And I didn’t like it much Sunday night.
Only an 80-yard touchdown drive directed masterfully by Tony Romo in the closing minutes allowed the Cowboys to escape the staggering New York Giants with a 31-28 win.
Rod Marinelli’s troops spent way too much time on the field and appeared out of gas late in the game as the Giants marched 93 yards in 14 plays to take a 28-24 lead with three minutes to play. It was the longest scoring drive allowed by the Cowboys this season.
This defense also allowed a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives earlier in the game.
The Tampa Two defensive scheme of Marinelli is designed to prevent big plays. Keep the ball in front of you and make the opposition work for its scores, figuring if the offense must snap the ball nine or 10 times on a possession, it will eventually make a mistake.
But that hasn’t been happening with this defense. The Giants mounted scoring drives of 14, 13 and 11 plays in those three possessions of 80 yards or more. The Dallas defense seemed more of a sparring partner on this night than a legitimate title contender.
When this defense has to play more than 30 minutes, the lack of depth and talent surfaces. Sunday night was the fifth time this defense spent 30 minutes on the field.
The Rams rang up 466 yards in 32 minutes against the Dallas D in September with a backup quarterback, but Romo again rallied the Cowboys for a 34-31 victory. When the defense stayed on the field for 31 minutes against Houston, the Cowboys needed overtime to salvage a 20-17 victory over a pedestrian Texans team.
When the defense had to play 38 minutes against Washington and 31 minutes against Arizona, the Cowboys lost back-to-back games at home. The Cowboys spent 35 minutes on defense against the Giants before Romo saved the day.
The first 27 minutes Sunday night were particularly ugly as the Giants turned their first three possessions into touchdowns. New York converted its first seven third downs of the night, running up 232 yards on 30 plays for a 21-10 lead.
The Cowboys couldn’t cover rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham, who had 100 yards receiving by halftime. The Cowboys also couldn’t corral Manning, who completed 14 of 16 passes in the first half for 191 yards and a passer efficiency rating of 156.0.
But the defense began to rally late in the second quarter with two sacks of Manning on New York’s fourth possession of the half. The Cowboys followed that up with a pair three-and-outs against the Giants to open the second half, giving Romo breathing room to mount a comeback.
The defense then turned in its biggest play of the night late in the third quarter. Leading 21-17, Manning moved the Giants 58 yards in nine plays to the Dallas 18 in search of an insurance score. On second-and-10, Manning had Preston Parker wide open on a crossing route inside the 5.
A bull’s-eye to Parker would have put the Giants ahead 28-17. Instead, Manning was high with the pass, and it clanged off Parker’s hand into those of safety Barry Church, who ran it back 45 yards to the Dallas 48.
Four plays later, Romo gave the Cowboys their first lead on a touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. New York would take one final lead on that 93-yard drive, but Romo let his defense off the hook with his fourth TD pass of the night and second to Bryant with 61 seconds left.
Manning wound up throwing for 338 yards, and Beckham caught 10 of his passes for 146 yards and two scores. The Giants ran 74 plays for 417 yards and 27 first downs.
Maybe the Cowboys can get away with defense like that against a 3-8 New York team now engulfed in a six-game losing streak. But the 8-3 Eagles on Thanksgiving don’t figure to be as forgiving.
Rick Gosselin
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — If this is any indication how the rest of the season will play out for the Cowboys, hold your breath.
No question that the offense is playoff-ready — and certainly Philadelphia Eagles-ready for the Thanksgiving showdown for the NFC East lead.
But this defense … The less this defense plays, the better I like it. And I didn’t like it much Sunday night.
Only an 80-yard touchdown drive directed masterfully by Tony Romo in the closing minutes allowed the Cowboys to escape the staggering New York Giants with a 31-28 win.
Rod Marinelli’s troops spent way too much time on the field and appeared out of gas late in the game as the Giants marched 93 yards in 14 plays to take a 28-24 lead with three minutes to play. It was the longest scoring drive allowed by the Cowboys this season.
This defense also allowed a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives earlier in the game.
The Tampa Two defensive scheme of Marinelli is designed to prevent big plays. Keep the ball in front of you and make the opposition work for its scores, figuring if the offense must snap the ball nine or 10 times on a possession, it will eventually make a mistake.
But that hasn’t been happening with this defense. The Giants mounted scoring drives of 14, 13 and 11 plays in those three possessions of 80 yards or more. The Dallas defense seemed more of a sparring partner on this night than a legitimate title contender.
When this defense has to play more than 30 minutes, the lack of depth and talent surfaces. Sunday night was the fifth time this defense spent 30 minutes on the field.
The Rams rang up 466 yards in 32 minutes against the Dallas D in September with a backup quarterback, but Romo again rallied the Cowboys for a 34-31 victory. When the defense stayed on the field for 31 minutes against Houston, the Cowboys needed overtime to salvage a 20-17 victory over a pedestrian Texans team.
When the defense had to play 38 minutes against Washington and 31 minutes against Arizona, the Cowboys lost back-to-back games at home. The Cowboys spent 35 minutes on defense against the Giants before Romo saved the day.
The first 27 minutes Sunday night were particularly ugly as the Giants turned their first three possessions into touchdowns. New York converted its first seven third downs of the night, running up 232 yards on 30 plays for a 21-10 lead.
The Cowboys couldn’t cover rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham, who had 100 yards receiving by halftime. The Cowboys also couldn’t corral Manning, who completed 14 of 16 passes in the first half for 191 yards and a passer efficiency rating of 156.0.
But the defense began to rally late in the second quarter with two sacks of Manning on New York’s fourth possession of the half. The Cowboys followed that up with a pair three-and-outs against the Giants to open the second half, giving Romo breathing room to mount a comeback.
The defense then turned in its biggest play of the night late in the third quarter. Leading 21-17, Manning moved the Giants 58 yards in nine plays to the Dallas 18 in search of an insurance score. On second-and-10, Manning had Preston Parker wide open on a crossing route inside the 5.
A bull’s-eye to Parker would have put the Giants ahead 28-17. Instead, Manning was high with the pass, and it clanged off Parker’s hand into those of safety Barry Church, who ran it back 45 yards to the Dallas 48.
Four plays later, Romo gave the Cowboys their first lead on a touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. New York would take one final lead on that 93-yard drive, but Romo let his defense off the hook with his fourth TD pass of the night and second to Bryant with 61 seconds left.
Manning wound up throwing for 338 yards, and Beckham caught 10 of his passes for 146 yards and two scores. The Giants ran 74 plays for 417 yards and 27 first downs.
Maybe the Cowboys can get away with defense like that against a 3-8 New York team now engulfed in a six-game losing streak. But the 8-3 Eagles on Thanksgiving don’t figure to be as forgiving.
