New coach, new results for Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys, lauded as one of the most talented teams in the NFL, got only their second win of the season to give their new head coach Jason Garrett a win on his coaching debut, as they beat the
New York Giants 33-20 on Sunday 14 November.
How it happened
Even without their starting quarterback Tony Romo, the change of coach seemed to bring a change of attitude, and certainly a change in the effectiveness of their execution, as backup quarterback Jon Kitna
only needed to complete 13 passes to get 327 passing yards on the day. The effectiveness of Kitna's passing was highlighted on the team's second possession of the day which saw Kitna throw two passes to Dez Bryant, including a big 45-yard play on the second
play of the drive and the 13-yard pass play for the touchdown, which was initially ruled an incomplete pass.
Big plays were a major factor for the Cowboys who also benefited from a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bryan McCann. Kitna was also involved in another big play when he fired a well executed
screen pass to Felix Jones who found an opening and ran the ball all 71 yards to the end zone for the touchdown.
Despite Giants quarterback Eli Manning throwing for 373 yards on the day, and two touchdown passes in the third quarter, the Cowboys defence stepped it up in the fourth to shut down the Giants offence
the rest of the way. The Cowboys stopped the Giants on a fourth and one situation and forced two turnovers in the final quarter.
What they're saying
"The timing is more important than what it means specifically to the future," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters after the game. "It's a good time to have a good feeling, we needed it. The players
needed it and our fans needed it most of all. But it's just that, a feel good. We have to get a lot of things worked out."
"We needed this," said Bryant after the game. "I knew it was in all of us. I just felt like we had to come together and we did that tonight."
What it all means
There were two power outtages during the game on Sunday night at the Cowboys' $1.6 billion stadium. They probably won't have to worry about that in their next game as they play a 1pm next weekend in Dallas
against the Detroit Lions.
The Giants missed out on their opportunity to extend thier lead atop the AFC East. They now prepare for a pivotal encounter with the Eagles, who are hot on their heals, in Philadelphia next Sunday 21 November.
Tags: