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Decoding McCarthy/Zimmer Report, Week 13
The Giants provide no resistance as Dallas gets an easy win over a very bad team.
Bob Sturm
Dec 02, 2024
Our objectives today:
The Offensive Overview vs the Giants
The performance of this offense on Thanksgiving Day must again be judged against certain realities, of course. There is no QB1, and that isn’t going to change this season. There is no All-Pro RG in Zack Martin, no starting TE in Jake Ferguson, and midway through the game, they lost All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb to a shoulder injury, suggesting a shutdown might soon be in order.
Against that backdrop, for the third consecutive week, we must be pleased that Cooper Rush was able to get some things done in the passing game. Now that we have seen a much larger sample with much more preparation than just that first Philadelphia game, it becomes clear that Rush is capable of doing what he has shown in past years—running the offense in a reasonable and efficient manner. He still has his limitations, but that is not a shock. However, Rush knows where the ball needs to be and when it needs to be there, so he has been entrusted with the job for good reason. The fact that Trey Lance never took the job from him is disappointing, but asking guys to play for two full months who are clearly the second-best option seems dubious at best. Rush is the better option, and for the third straight week, the offense was, at least, functional.
And this time, ladies and gentlemen, it was due to the running game finally making some strides.
The key to winning this game—and your second consecutive division game in less than a week—is simple: the Giants stink. They are very poor, and therefore the threshold for Rush and the offense to secure a victory was to avoid giveaways and wait for opportunities created by the defense wrecking the Giants' attack. More on that in a minute. But for the offense, this seemed like a “stay out of the way” performance and punching in a few short fields. It wasn’t much more complex than that.
As you can see, we are fortunate that the Giants' offense did so much of the heavy lifting here because the success rates tell the story of a Cowboys offense that isn’t great. They just could not show much consistency in success on a broad scale. The rushing game did break a few plays but overall was not very strong (3.8 yards per carry). The passing game was hampered by CeeDee Lamb’s curious day of drops and an inability to find much success vertically.
And first downs? Ugly. Just nine of 29 first downs crossed the threshold of success (gaining 40% or more of the yards to go).
Bad first downs mean second-and-long situations too often, which puts too much pressure on third down. Funny thing, though—the Cowboys actually had one of their best “non-Dak” third-down performances in a long time. Going 7-for-15 (47%) is what we expect from him, and it saved some bacon in this one.
That saved them and two takeaways that immediately became touchdowns. Those 14 points of turnovers is probably the best way to review the offensive performance. Because, as you might recall (or already tried to forget), the offense did not put much together in this game in terms of impressive drives.
But, that won’t stop me from looking at five of the finest runs of 2024.
They may be figuring out the Running Game
Red alert. There are indications that this team may not be the worst rushing team in the NFL.
Yes, they are still 31st in yards per game and 31st in yards per carry (Vegas is 32nd in both), so we need to see this much more.
But, let’s appreciate five wonderful runs from Rico Dowdle and the boys up front.
1Q - 1:12 - 2-21-DAL 32 - R.Dowdle left guard to NYG 46 for 22 yards
The first one above is a simple draw play on second and 21. The OL up front allow their men to get upfield as part of the concept and then get a few players to the 2nd level. In this case, 89-Brevyn Spann-Ford and 78-Terence Steele are highlighted by Kevin Utz with fancy circles. The rest is Rico Dowdle exploding through and getting north. He is excellent at this. On 2nd and 21, he runs for 22.
But, wait, he goes again on the very next play.
1Q - 0:45 - 1-10-NYG 46 - R.Dowdle up the middle to NYG 33 for 13 yards
This is inside zone with 12 personnel and an attached WR in 1-Jalen Tolbert, which gives it a 13 personnel look. Here you are looking for double teams up front and if those double TE’s can give Dowdle some daylight to bounce it, that is where we can find a numbers advantage. The Giants are over-run here – so much so that Tolbert cannot find any work. 89-Spann-Ford is a beast walling off his guy while 86-Schoonmaker takes his inside and Dowdle has his path. Love seeing 67-Brock Hoffman and 78-Terence Steele working it, too. 13 more yards made to look easy. Where has this been?
3Q - 4:27 - 2-4-NYG 4 - R.Dowdle right guard for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Goal-line in the third quarter is inside zone again. Shotgun, 11 personnel with Spann-Ford in there to kick some tail. Here we have that same situation where Hoffman-Steele are working a double-team where whoever can get to LB-41 will when the double is won. Meanwhile, watch 89 with what we might call “zipper motion” and then not only does he block the edge, but he also gets the safety. A tight end who can block more than one guy? Dowdle is in dream land.
Two more from the fourth quarter:
4Q - 11:37 - 2-8-DAL 33 - R.Dowdle left tackle to NYG 49 for 18 yards
This is interesting because I believe it is power-lead, which would have the left tackle and the center pulling behind Tyler Smith. But, it seems like Smith leaves his guy for Beebe and sort of switches in mid-play. The adjustment, if I am seeing it correctly, works wonderfully and this play is a piece of art. 18 yards and this looks like one of the Cowboys best runs of the year. Just beautiful.
4Q - 6:59 - 1-10-DAL 39 - R.Dowdle up the middle to NYG 44 for 17 yards
One last inside zone to enjoy, but this one is with 21 personnel and a WR who inserts via motion to add to the numbers. That motion makes it 8-v-8 up front, and then Dowdle has to create his own space by running hard and breaking a tackle from the LB. But again, we like the frontside work and then Hoffman and friends sealing off the back. Dowdle blows right through it.
Overall, I think the OL played very well. I also think that when you add a TE like Spann-Ford and a WR like Jonathan Mingo, you are helping the run game even more. Maybe we are stumbling onto something for 2025 with the way these run plays are starting to look. I’m willing to return with Steele next season if I think he is key to making this happen, too.
The Defensive Overview vs the Giants
I really think the defensive summary is going to be much easier. The return of Micah Parsons has made this a very easy job.
Just look at the sack/pressure montage where Drew Lock was hit a ton.
It is very worth recognizing how good 55-Carl Lawson has been this year. He is 29 years old, so I am not sure if he is in their plans to try to keep around, but this was his best game as a Cowboy. But, man, Micah Parsons was so good. 7 pressures, in on 3 sacks, and causing so much havoc. His speed is ridiculous.
Since returning for Week 10, no player in the NFL has more pressures or been in on more sacks. He is arguably the finest defensive player in the NFL when he looks like this. And you can see that not only does he make plays – but he absolutely allows others to make theirs.
The Giants are not a good offense at all, so let’s not get it twisted. However, Dallas gave them almost nothing all day after that first drive. It was among the best defensive performances Mike Zimmer has delivered.
It might be a case of wishing this league would be more fun if you could play the Giants every week.
Another highlight was how strong the pass rush was without blitzing. When sending just four rushers on Thursday, Dallas recorded five sacks on 30 plays and applied pressure on 12. That is substantial without the benefit of using extra defenders to generate the rush.
Seriously, from Drive 2 until garbage time, we saw the Giants run 27 offensive plays for 29 yards. Those poor people that have to watch that offense play every week.
SPLASH PLAYS
An incredibly healthy 22 splash plays including DeMarvion Overshown having his hand in both takeaways. That damage pushed him to the team-lead in splash plays with five games to go. We doubt he can hold off Micah Parsons for the season, but he is giving it a very impressive try. What a pair of play-makers this team has to build around.
The Bengals should give them plenty more to think about, but this is a very good sign and it all started turning around when Micah Parsons got back in the action. Who knew?
Plays that defined this game - Xs and Os breakdown
Here are a few plays that we will remember about this game.
2Q - 11:37 - 1-10-NYG 40 - D.Lock pass short left intended for D.Singletary INTERCEPTED by D.Overshown at NYG 23. D.Overshown for 23 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
From Friday’s piece:
2Q - 7:26 - 3-1-DAL 44 - C.Rush pass incomplete short right to C.Lamb.
As good as Dallas was on 3rd down in this game, it could have been even better if CeeDee Lamb was catching the ball. I was told to look at this play to see how wide open 81-Mingo was and he is open. The problem is on the roll-out, Brian Burns is bearing down on Rush quickly. If you see Burns running at you and Lamb wide open behind him, you throw it to the WR who is the star. But, yes, Mingo has that corner and if you get it out there, he might score. I think Mingo is going to be fine with this team, even if the fanbase is sort of rooting against him in an effort to make Jerry Jones wrong again. It is what it is.
3Q - 13:45 - 3-2-NYG 38 - D.Lock sacked at NYG 36 for -2 yards (E.Kendricks). FUMBLES (E.Kendricks) [C.Lawson], RECOVERED by DAL-D.Overshown at NYG 38.
Nothing more demoralizing for a struggling offense than a turnover on a 3rd and short out of halftime. Nothing better for a defense on 3rd and 2 then to scheme up a sack and takeaway. This is Zimmer showing seven guys with only four rushing. All the edges drop out, but Drew Lock is seeing ghosts and runs right into Kendricks. To make it even worse, the ball comes loose and there is Overshown again. Again, the Giants are a real mess on offense.
3Q - 11:44 - 3-2-NYG 2 - C.Rush pass short left to B.Cooks for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
3rd and Goal from the 2-yard line and the Cowboys run one of their favorite plays. This is a 3x1 where you run your speedy receiver from the lone spot all the way across because you have everyone else taking the safeties in the other direction. With a blitz coming and Lamb going the opposite direction, this is a foot race between Brandin Cooks and Adoree Jackson. Dallas likes that idea so now all Rush has to do is back-pedal and then loft one in the path and Cooks will do the rest.
There is no question that Cooks’ tenure as a Cowboy will not be termed a big success, but it is nice to see him back out there and to have a moment. He is really a great pro and it just never got going in Dallas.
Ok, let’s call it there. Dallas is now feeling better about itself as we enter December. We are finally seeing the scheme look like it is supposed to look on both sides of the ball, so if nothing else, we have some watchable football. The bar is pretty low, I admit, but let’s see what December will offer us next.
The Giants provide no resistance as Dallas gets an easy win over a very bad team.
Bob Sturm
Dec 02, 2024
Our objectives today:
- The Offensive Overview vs the Giants
- The running game emerges
- The Defensive Overview vs the Giants
- Micah Parsons is ridiculous.
- Plays that defined this game - Xs and Os breakdown
The Offensive Overview vs the Giants
The performance of this offense on Thanksgiving Day must again be judged against certain realities, of course. There is no QB1, and that isn’t going to change this season. There is no All-Pro RG in Zack Martin, no starting TE in Jake Ferguson, and midway through the game, they lost All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb to a shoulder injury, suggesting a shutdown might soon be in order.
Against that backdrop, for the third consecutive week, we must be pleased that Cooper Rush was able to get some things done in the passing game. Now that we have seen a much larger sample with much more preparation than just that first Philadelphia game, it becomes clear that Rush is capable of doing what he has shown in past years—running the offense in a reasonable and efficient manner. He still has his limitations, but that is not a shock. However, Rush knows where the ball needs to be and when it needs to be there, so he has been entrusted with the job for good reason. The fact that Trey Lance never took the job from him is disappointing, but asking guys to play for two full months who are clearly the second-best option seems dubious at best. Rush is the better option, and for the third straight week, the offense was, at least, functional.
And this time, ladies and gentlemen, it was due to the running game finally making some strides.
The key to winning this game—and your second consecutive division game in less than a week—is simple: the Giants stink. They are very poor, and therefore the threshold for Rush and the offense to secure a victory was to avoid giveaways and wait for opportunities created by the defense wrecking the Giants' attack. More on that in a minute. But for the offense, this seemed like a “stay out of the way” performance and punching in a few short fields. It wasn’t much more complex than that.
As you can see, we are fortunate that the Giants' offense did so much of the heavy lifting here because the success rates tell the story of a Cowboys offense that isn’t great. They just could not show much consistency in success on a broad scale. The rushing game did break a few plays but overall was not very strong (3.8 yards per carry). The passing game was hampered by CeeDee Lamb’s curious day of drops and an inability to find much success vertically.
And first downs? Ugly. Just nine of 29 first downs crossed the threshold of success (gaining 40% or more of the yards to go).
Bad first downs mean second-and-long situations too often, which puts too much pressure on third down. Funny thing, though—the Cowboys actually had one of their best “non-Dak” third-down performances in a long time. Going 7-for-15 (47%) is what we expect from him, and it saved some bacon in this one.
That saved them and two takeaways that immediately became touchdowns. Those 14 points of turnovers is probably the best way to review the offensive performance. Because, as you might recall (or already tried to forget), the offense did not put much together in this game in terms of impressive drives.
But, that won’t stop me from looking at five of the finest runs of 2024.
They may be figuring out the Running Game
Red alert. There are indications that this team may not be the worst rushing team in the NFL.
Yes, they are still 31st in yards per game and 31st in yards per carry (Vegas is 32nd in both), so we need to see this much more.
But, let’s appreciate five wonderful runs from Rico Dowdle and the boys up front.
1Q - 1:12 - 2-21-DAL 32 - R.Dowdle left guard to NYG 46 for 22 yards
The first one above is a simple draw play on second and 21. The OL up front allow their men to get upfield as part of the concept and then get a few players to the 2nd level. In this case, 89-Brevyn Spann-Ford and 78-Terence Steele are highlighted by Kevin Utz with fancy circles. The rest is Rico Dowdle exploding through and getting north. He is excellent at this. On 2nd and 21, he runs for 22.
But, wait, he goes again on the very next play.
1Q - 0:45 - 1-10-NYG 46 - R.Dowdle up the middle to NYG 33 for 13 yards
This is inside zone with 12 personnel and an attached WR in 1-Jalen Tolbert, which gives it a 13 personnel look. Here you are looking for double teams up front and if those double TE’s can give Dowdle some daylight to bounce it, that is where we can find a numbers advantage. The Giants are over-run here – so much so that Tolbert cannot find any work. 89-Spann-Ford is a beast walling off his guy while 86-Schoonmaker takes his inside and Dowdle has his path. Love seeing 67-Brock Hoffman and 78-Terence Steele working it, too. 13 more yards made to look easy. Where has this been?
3Q - 4:27 - 2-4-NYG 4 - R.Dowdle right guard for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Goal-line in the third quarter is inside zone again. Shotgun, 11 personnel with Spann-Ford in there to kick some tail. Here we have that same situation where Hoffman-Steele are working a double-team where whoever can get to LB-41 will when the double is won. Meanwhile, watch 89 with what we might call “zipper motion” and then not only does he block the edge, but he also gets the safety. A tight end who can block more than one guy? Dowdle is in dream land.
Two more from the fourth quarter:
4Q - 11:37 - 2-8-DAL 33 - R.Dowdle left tackle to NYG 49 for 18 yards
This is interesting because I believe it is power-lead, which would have the left tackle and the center pulling behind Tyler Smith. But, it seems like Smith leaves his guy for Beebe and sort of switches in mid-play. The adjustment, if I am seeing it correctly, works wonderfully and this play is a piece of art. 18 yards and this looks like one of the Cowboys best runs of the year. Just beautiful.
4Q - 6:59 - 1-10-DAL 39 - R.Dowdle up the middle to NYG 44 for 17 yards
One last inside zone to enjoy, but this one is with 21 personnel and a WR who inserts via motion to add to the numbers. That motion makes it 8-v-8 up front, and then Dowdle has to create his own space by running hard and breaking a tackle from the LB. But again, we like the frontside work and then Hoffman and friends sealing off the back. Dowdle blows right through it.
Overall, I think the OL played very well. I also think that when you add a TE like Spann-Ford and a WR like Jonathan Mingo, you are helping the run game even more. Maybe we are stumbling onto something for 2025 with the way these run plays are starting to look. I’m willing to return with Steele next season if I think he is key to making this happen, too.
The Defensive Overview vs the Giants
I really think the defensive summary is going to be much easier. The return of Micah Parsons has made this a very easy job.
Just look at the sack/pressure montage where Drew Lock was hit a ton.
It is very worth recognizing how good 55-Carl Lawson has been this year. He is 29 years old, so I am not sure if he is in their plans to try to keep around, but this was his best game as a Cowboy. But, man, Micah Parsons was so good. 7 pressures, in on 3 sacks, and causing so much havoc. His speed is ridiculous.
Since returning for Week 10, no player in the NFL has more pressures or been in on more sacks. He is arguably the finest defensive player in the NFL when he looks like this. And you can see that not only does he make plays – but he absolutely allows others to make theirs.
The Giants are not a good offense at all, so let’s not get it twisted. However, Dallas gave them almost nothing all day after that first drive. It was among the best defensive performances Mike Zimmer has delivered.
It might be a case of wishing this league would be more fun if you could play the Giants every week.
Another highlight was how strong the pass rush was without blitzing. When sending just four rushers on Thursday, Dallas recorded five sacks on 30 plays and applied pressure on 12. That is substantial without the benefit of using extra defenders to generate the rush.
Seriously, from Drive 2 until garbage time, we saw the Giants run 27 offensive plays for 29 yards. Those poor people that have to watch that offense play every week.
SPLASH PLAYS
An incredibly healthy 22 splash plays including DeMarvion Overshown having his hand in both takeaways. That damage pushed him to the team-lead in splash plays with five games to go. We doubt he can hold off Micah Parsons for the season, but he is giving it a very impressive try. What a pair of play-makers this team has to build around.
The Bengals should give them plenty more to think about, but this is a very good sign and it all started turning around when Micah Parsons got back in the action. Who knew?
Plays that defined this game - Xs and Os breakdown
Here are a few plays that we will remember about this game.
2Q - 11:37 - 1-10-NYG 40 - D.Lock pass short left intended for D.Singletary INTERCEPTED by D.Overshown at NYG 23. D.Overshown for 23 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
From Friday’s piece:
This is a “shot play” where I believe the Giants are in max-protect to make sure they can set up a 1st down deep pass to 86-Slayton on an over-route. They actually guess correctly, but Lock wants to check down because he feels the pressure with a Dallas blitz. And Overshown does the rest. Just beautiful.
2Q - 7:26 - 3-1-DAL 44 - C.Rush pass incomplete short right to C.Lamb.
As good as Dallas was on 3rd down in this game, it could have been even better if CeeDee Lamb was catching the ball. I was told to look at this play to see how wide open 81-Mingo was and he is open. The problem is on the roll-out, Brian Burns is bearing down on Rush quickly. If you see Burns running at you and Lamb wide open behind him, you throw it to the WR who is the star. But, yes, Mingo has that corner and if you get it out there, he might score. I think Mingo is going to be fine with this team, even if the fanbase is sort of rooting against him in an effort to make Jerry Jones wrong again. It is what it is.
3Q - 13:45 - 3-2-NYG 38 - D.Lock sacked at NYG 36 for -2 yards (E.Kendricks). FUMBLES (E.Kendricks) [C.Lawson], RECOVERED by DAL-D.Overshown at NYG 38.
Nothing more demoralizing for a struggling offense than a turnover on a 3rd and short out of halftime. Nothing better for a defense on 3rd and 2 then to scheme up a sack and takeaway. This is Zimmer showing seven guys with only four rushing. All the edges drop out, but Drew Lock is seeing ghosts and runs right into Kendricks. To make it even worse, the ball comes loose and there is Overshown again. Again, the Giants are a real mess on offense.
3Q - 11:44 - 3-2-NYG 2 - C.Rush pass short left to B.Cooks for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
3rd and Goal from the 2-yard line and the Cowboys run one of their favorite plays. This is a 3x1 where you run your speedy receiver from the lone spot all the way across because you have everyone else taking the safeties in the other direction. With a blitz coming and Lamb going the opposite direction, this is a foot race between Brandin Cooks and Adoree Jackson. Dallas likes that idea so now all Rush has to do is back-pedal and then loft one in the path and Cooks will do the rest.
There is no question that Cooks’ tenure as a Cowboy will not be termed a big success, but it is nice to see him back out there and to have a moment. He is really a great pro and it just never got going in Dallas.
Ok, let’s call it there. Dallas is now feeling better about itself as we enter December. We are finally seeing the scheme look like it is supposed to look on both sides of the ball, so if nothing else, we have some watchable football. The bar is pretty low, I admit, but let’s see what December will offer us next.