Before we begin I’d like to tell you a little story. For Thanksgiving, I took a trip out to Dallas to see family, while I was there, I was given the full package when it comes to the history of America’s Team. Yes I’m still going to be a Ravens diehard, and Charm City Beasts is still going to be posted regularly, but I wanted to do something different this week to recap what I saw from a skybox at JerryWorld. You can thank my older sister for that since she works for Dem Cowboys. Enough of the talk, let’s get to the game.
(For years I would always laugh at the failures of the Cowboys, now I must admire the history of the organization, and cheer on my family)
THANKSGIVING IN DALLAS! It’s the one time of the year when the people of that city know that they are going to be on National TV. This time around Cowboys Nation has the right to have all the confidence in the world. This group is one of the best teams they have trotted out onto a field in 25 years. They may not have the talent that some of their teams since then have had, but there is one difference. Mental toughness. In 2014, and 2016, Dallas clearly had Super Bowl caliber rosters, but they couldn’t get past the 2nd Round because they got tight in key spots. This Cowboys team is different. In Week 1, they lost Dak Prescott, the face of their franchise for 6 weeks thanks to a serious thumb injury. All appeared lost in JerryWorld. But then something awesome happened. Dem Boys won 4 straight games behind backup QB Cooper Rush. He wasn’t Dak, but he did what he needed to do in order to win. The defense and running game would do the rest. Once Dak returned in Week 7, the Cowboys became solid Super Bowl Contenders. Besides Prescott the offense was full of talent. A potent dual-threat combination at RB in Ezekiel Elliott, and Tony Pollard. CeeDee Lamb becoming the next in a long line of great Cowboy receivers that wore #88. (That club includes Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, and Dez Bryant) And as expected, an elite O-Line that gives fans memories of the Great Wall of Dallas in the 1990s. On defense it’s the reincarnation of the Doomsday Machine of the 1970s. Led by 3 generational talents in DeMarcus Lawrence, Trevon Diggs, and Micah Parsons, Dallas leads the league in sacks, points allowed, yards allowed, and turnovers. That’s what happens when Dan Quinn is the Defensive Coordinator, we saw plenty of that in Seattle, and now we are seeing it here. Even if they hit a bump in Week 10 against Mike McCarthy’s old team in the Packers, the Cowboys roughed up the 8-1 Vikings at US Bank Stadium. 40-3. They wanted to remind Minnesota about the Herschel Walker Trade back in 1989.
As good as the Cowboys have been, their opponent on Thanksgiving would be equally as hungry for a statement. The New York Giants. For the previous five years, the G-Men were the punchline of the NFC. Dave Gettleman’s 2nd trip to the Big Apple was a disaster. They averaged only 5 wins a year, struggled in free agency, and made terrible draft day decisions. But this year was different. The Giants led by new head coach Brian Daboll, and new GM Joe Schoen turned this losing organization back into the winning culture that they had set during 80s, 90s, and 2000s. In one season, New York went from being a basement dweller to playoff contenders. The reasoning was due to a revitalized Saquan Barkley who has put together his best season since his rookie year. Daniel Jones finally has proved why the Giants took him with the 6th overall pick in 2019. He may not be an elite QB, but he’s serviceable for what he is. On defense, they have evoked memories of great Giant teams of the past. Under Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale, the Giants have been a rock solid unit that thrives in close games. It was the main reason that they started the year 7-2. But in Week 11 they hit a wall. They got blown out at home against the Detroit Lions soundly. According to Max Kellerman of ESPN, it was due to the fact that the Giants were already preparing for Thanksgiving Day. This is why you play the games. Any team can get beaten on any given day. That’s what they didn’t take into account.
By failing to take care of business against the Lions, the G-Men were about to enter a place that was hungry for statement. JerryWorld. The Cowboys may be winless on Turkey Day since 2018 but don’t tell that to their fanbase or the Joneses. They want to separate themselves from each other in the Wild Card race, and are on the tails of their arch rivals from Philadelphia. The rules are simple. One team wins and keeps up with the Eagles for the #1 seed, the other must have to deal with a white hot Commanders team breathing down their necks if they lose. The atmosphere inside AT&T Stadium is raucous. Over 93,000 fans were on hand to watch this showdown. (The only team to use the equivalent of Terrible Towels long term? DALLAS!) Not to mention 42 Million people watched this on Fox. The largest TV audience for a regular season game ever. (Jerry loves those ratings doesn’t he) On their opening possession, New York reached midfield but could do no more as Saquan Barkley was tackled short of the line to gain on a screen pass. (When will teams learn not to throw checkdowns on 3rd and Long. Jimmy Johnson would be all over them) Luckily for Daboll, his counterpart Mike McCarthy went bold on a 4th and 2 in his own end and could get a yard. (Total McCarthyism) The Giants took advantage of this opportunity by scoring a touchdown. BEEP! Only for it to get called back because of an illegal man downfield. They would get a field goal out of this drive to go up 3-0. Dallas would try to respond but Dak Prescott was picked off by Rodarius Williams. Luckily the Cowboy defense would hold the G-Men to a 3 and out. Even if they were pinned in their own end, Dallas would go on a 93 yard drive, and take their first lead of the game. It was all set up by excellent catches on 3rd Down from CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. And of course they must feed Zeke inside the 10 yard line, which normally works. Even if they were up 7-3, Dallas wouldn’t be ahead for long. You can thank Daniel Jones throwing a bomb to Darius Slayton. (Giants, where was this against the Lions?) That set up Saquan to punch it in from a yard out. New York retakes the lead. Even worse for Cowboy Nation the one element that their fans despise returned. REFBALL. It may not have been as bad as last year on Thanksgiving, but those zebras need to entertain those watching the game from their houses. The main example, a missed PI call on an interception by the Giants. Don’t argue with me Dallas, that was the makeup call for the TD that was called back. The G-Men responded by taking the ball into Cowboy territory and just before halftime they extended their lead to 6. Those fans in Cowboys gear will never hear the end of it if they lose this game.
Luckily for Mike McCarthy he had an extra long halftime to make adjustments for the 2nd Half. (That halftime show featured the Jonas Brothers by the way. They are still fun to watch) And those adjustments worked wonders didn’t it. Both Zeke and Tony Pollard, as they did to the Vikings, started to pile up the yards as the 3rd Quarter began. Isn’t Martindale known as a coordinator that has a major emphasis for stopping the run? I think so. Even if they got the Cowboys to multiple 3rd and longs, the Giants couldn’t stop Dak or Dalton Schultz. Dallas regains the lead. And it would only be the beginning. The Cowboys pass rush which had been quiet in the 1st Half started to wreak havoc on Danny Dimes. Whether it was Micah Parsons, or DeMarcus Lawrence is to be determined. But even if he was pounded, Jones still had a chance to give his team the lead again. Oh right, they can’t convert a 4th and 1 because he made a bad read. That may have been the killing blow of this game for the Giants. Dallas will obviously take advantage of it in no time. Dak was able to hit his TEs and CeeDee Lamb made the catch of the day to set up Schultz’s 2nd touchdown. 21-13 in favor of Dem Boys. Giants fans you think this is bad, it’s about to get worse. Dallas’ front seven began to make mincemeat of that Offensive Line. Yes New York was missing 3 starters but even when they had their full line in Week 3 they still couldn’t block them. Just that old donkey in Eli Manning, Daniel Jones must be slaughtered for all of Texas to see. Then Jake Ferguson turned into Jumpman. (Tight End U in the NFC) The Cowboys from that moment on could smell blood in the water. Even if CeeDee Lamb was robbed of a spectacular catch on 1st and Goal, it didn’t matter because Peyton Hendershot put the dagger in the heart of the G-Men. (Whack-a-Mole in the Salvation Army Pot = Classy Cowboys) Did anything else happen, well Micah Parsons set a Cowboys record with his 5th multi-sack game of the season. It’s insane that DeMarcus Ware, Charles Haley, or Randy White in some ways never did this. That just shows you how great of a player he really is. (And he’s an underrated cover guy too) The Giants may have added a garbage time TD, but it was too late.
This game taught us all a lesson. That lesson is don’t mess with JerryBoy when he knows that his crew has an opponent right where they want them. The Cowboys haven’t made an NFC Title game in 27 years but don’t tell their fans that. They think that this is the year that they will finally get over the hump. With a game like this, the sky is indeed the limit in Big D. Sweeping the Giants during New York’s best season in nearly a decade is a huge boost of confidence. Even if the Eagles have the best record in football, Dem Cowboys are right on their tails. I have a feeling the NFC will come down to those 2 teams. And they play against each other on Christmas Eve in JerryWorld. (That could potentially decide the NFC East) How can the Cowboys make their team even deadlier? Well they are rumored to get OBJ. I know it would sound crazy for them to do this considering that Odell Beckham is coming off a torn ACL. But when was the last time Jerry made a move like this? Deion Sanders in 1995, and they won a title that year too. As for the rest of Thanksgiving Weekend good times were had by all, at least in Dallas. There is only one thing I can say before I wrap this document up. HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS!
Bragging Rights Sports 