Dallas season ends after some questionable decisions against NYG

The last significant move in the cold and rain at MetLife Stadium ended the Cowboys season on Sunday afternoon.

Dallas was playing for a post-season spot, a position he didn’t deserve, but he was eligible because of how bad NFC East has been in 2020.

Quarterback Andy Dalton, playing with a bloody left hand covered by a glove, was trying to avoid a sack at the end of the fourth period against the Giants. But Dalton’s pass, in a third and Giants 17 goal, was intercepted by Xavier McKinney in the end zone.

And with that, small playoff hopes for the Cowboys ended with a 23-19 loss to the Giants. The season is over now. Cowboys will worry about the NFL draft, rather than a possible home playoff game. It was a bad start for the Cowboys on Sunday and a frantic ending. The Giants will now wait for Sunday night’s clash between Washington and Philadelphia to decide whether to reach the postseason.

Here are five lessons from the Cowboys-Giants:

No McCarthy challenge

You can go back and watch several plays in an NFL game and think that they are the ones who decided. But Dante Pettis’s 10-yard touchdown in a third and 16 in the middle of the fourth period created a 50-yard field goal for Giants kicker Graham Gano.

The question is whether Pettis made a dive capture. It seems that Pettis caught the ball, but the referees determined a safe reception on the field. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy did not challenge the move. He kept looking at the video’s playback panel and just watched the opportunity pass. In a McCarthy betting season, especially on fake punts, this was a situation he should have bet on.

Gano scored the goal with 6:27 remaining, forcing the Cowboys to need a touchdown on their final throw. McCarthy’s inaction hurt his team.

The disaster that was … or was it not?

While the Giants were running out of time, running back Walter Gallman Jr. got rid of linebacker Jaylon Smith for a big win. But Gallman fumbled with the rain and a wild scene occurred. Bodies were everywhere and Gallman was considered to have recovered from the disaster. Or did he?

A repetition showed him sitting on the missing ball. Another replay showed him with the ball in his arms while he was lying on the floor. The Cowboys swore that they recovered the ball, and the referees at different points granted possession of both sides before deciding that the ball belonged to New York.

It looked like the referees got it right. They did?

Kellen Moore gets

On Saturday night, the Cowboys signed offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for a three-year extension. After the poor first half for his offense, there were doubts as to why Dallas would do this. But Moore redeemed himself in the second half, when the Cowboys’ attack dominated the game.

Keeping Moore is another example of how much the Cowboys front office values ​​him, including coach Mike McCarthy. The future looks good for Moore if some of the offensive pieces – Dak Prescott, La’el Collins, Blake Jarwin and Tyron Smith – can return in 2021 from injuries.

“I think the obvious continuity, consistency and just the opportunity to really grow and that’s it,” said McCarthy in 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] before the game.

“Grow with him as a game marker and develop this attack system that we created to bring all our players back healthy and build what we’re doing in the coming weeks here this season. We started well, we have a really good base in attack and we just want to keep building. “

Turnovers

In the last four games, the Cowboys defense has converted 12 takeaways to 57 points. Donovan Wilson had an interception and Chidobe Awuzie recovered a fumble in Sunday’s game.

It’s amazing how this team played differently when it forced the turnaround. One of the biggest things that worries Cowboys when recruiting or hiring players at free agency is making sure they have game creators. Do the Cowboys have any now in defense? It’s clear that Wilson – he had a choice and a bag on Sunday – and newcomer Trevon Diggs, with three choices this season, played well. Moving forward, the concern with the generation of turnover is something that should not be a concern.

A first half to forget

In the first half, the Cowboys acted as if they had nothing to play for. They went 1-7 on the third descents. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 27 yards and left the game with an apparent leg injury. Andy Dalton was fired three times and played as if he were still in miserable Bengals.

And yes, the Cowboys had five penalties for 48 yards, including a bad cornerback Jourdan Lewis who hit the Giants’ chin tightly behind a move and a false start at guard Connor McGovern while the Cowboys tried to hit the ball before the interval. Linebacker Jaylon Smith was signaled for holding back when he interrupted a pass play and started celebrating immediately, thinking he was not penalized.

Dallas lost 20-9 in the break.

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