Cowboys news: Dallas maintains NFC East lead

What we learned from Cowboys' win over Giants - Jeremy Bergman, NFL.com
In a game filled with big plays and sometimes sloppy results, a cat is what many will remember from Monday night.

5. "The game has been suspended. Cat on the field," will read in the game book for centuries to come. The moment when the earth stood still and fixed its vision to East Rutherford to stand in awe of a frolicking feline dancing in the night. Time stopped with just under six minutes remaining in the second quarter with the Giants driving up 9-3, seemingly with no explanation. Soon it was understood why: A black cat had wandered onto the field. For what felt like two minutes, the cursed beast ran around security detail, avoiding capture and capturing the attention of a divided nation. Eventually, the cat, which according to a Giants team reporter is one of many strays living inside the stadium, disappeared under a seating section, perhaps never to be seen again. After the break, or post-cat, New York was outscored 34-9, inspiring some in the Dallas locker room to take ownership of the cat. The belated Halloween celebration was the most thrilling moment of Monday's affair and one football purists and Purina procurists won't soon forget.

6. Dallas' victory keeps the 'Boys a half-game ahead of Philadelphia (5-4) in the NFC East. With one leg up in a two-man race, the Cowboys and Eagles will be watching the scoreboard for the remainder of the season, hoping their rival stumbles. Neither did in Week 9. Next up for both sides: Dallas hosts the 6-3 Vikings on Sunday night, while the Eagles enjoy a bye before welcoming the fully rested and vengeful Patriots to town in Week 11. In other news, the Giants are currently sixth in the 2020 draft order.

Giants-Cowboys: Black cat gets loose on field, and Twitter had jokes - Henry McKenna, ForTheWin.com
It’s worth noting the Cowboys completely turned the game around after the cat’s appearance.

Just a few days after Halloween, a black cat took the field during the first half of the Giants’ game against the Cowboys in Week 9 at MetLife Stadium for Monday Night Football. It seems a fan set the animal loose.

The poor cat ran around the field, clearly confused and probably casting a curse on New York and Dallas’ seasons. You could argue the cat hexed the Giants offense, whose drive got interrupted by the cat. (They settled for a field goal and quarterback Daniel Jones threw an interception on the following drive.) But I’m not an expert in hexes. I can’t say with certainty.

Recap: Cowboys Claw Back to Beat Giants, 37-18 - Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com
The Mothership’s recap of the game notes the excellence of Ezekiel Elliott.

After an unexpected loss to the Jets in Week 6 of this season, the Cowboys were determined to write a different story on their second visit to the Meadowlands this year. And although it was often ugly, in the end the favored team did exactly what it was supposed to do, defeating the rival New York Giants, 37-18.

The Cowboys offense was largely unstoppable throughout the night – when they didn’t stop themselves. Ezekiel Elliott led the effort as he rushed for 139 yards, his fifth time topping the century mark this season.

He wasn’t alone, though, as Dak Prescott also had another quality outing. The quarterback completed 62.9 percent of his passes, totaling 257 yards and three touchdowns for a 101.7 passer rating. Five different players pulled in at least 30 receiving yards, Amari Cooper leading the way with 80 overall on the night.

Giants-Cowboys: Golden Tate makes stunning one-handed catch - Henry McKenna, ForTheWin.com
Forgotten among the many Cowboys’ highlights was the fact it took this play from Golden Tate to beat the Cowboys’ Byron Jones.

In the corner of the field near the end zone, the New York Giants receiver ripped down a one-handed catch with a Dallas Cowboys cornerback in tight coverage. Tate rose above his defender, Byron Jones, and plucked the ball out of the air with one hand. He brought the ball into his body (still with one hand) and but he was unable to extend the ball over the goal-line, which brought New York to the 1-yard line. A few plays later, the Giants scored a touchdown. Here’s a look at the play.

Five thoughts from Cowboys’ win: Dallas sweeps season series vs. Giants - Calvin Watkins, DallasNews.com
A nice win in the end had many of us scratching our heads at why it was so difficult.

The Cowboys offense muddled along at times. The first play of the game was an interception -- Dak Prescott was picked off by Antoine Bethea. Randall Cobb fumbled. And there was a poor play-call by Kellen Moore when he asked Prescott to run to the short side of the field with Cobb as the lead blocker, which presented all sorts of problems. But the Cowboys entered with an NFL-leading 6.7 yards per play and that’s basically what they averaged Monday night. Ezekiel Elliott continued to be strong, with 139 yards on 23 carries. Prescott was able to scramble away from problems and find Blake Jarwin for a 42-yard catch and run, then Michael Gallup clinched the game with a dazzling 15-yard reception as he leaped over a defender to get into the end zone. This wasn’t a perfect game for the offense but it did enough to win

From overcoming the offense’s slow start to Michael Bennett’s beastly debut - Jean-Jacques Taylor, DallasNews.com
Taylor weighs in with his grades of the game.

COACHING

Kris Richard and Rod Marinelli figured out a way to stop Barkley from controlling the game. He had one big play -- a 65-yard screen -- but that has to be considered a win by Dallas. The red zone defense was outstanding, forcing the Giants to kick four field goals inside 30 yards. Play-caller Moore’s offense was pretty balanced with 35 passes and 30 runs. He didn’t call any deep shots until the second half, but the Cowboys made them count. GRADE: B

OVERALL

The Cowboys started slowly, perhaps it was the two weeks off, but it was really more about Dallas’ mistakes than anything the Giants were doing. Once they stopped messing up, the Cowboys showed they were superior on both sides of the ball. They showed some toughness, coming from nine down to roll past the Giants. But they’ll have to play better because the schedule is about to get significantly tougher. GRADE: B

Curse breaker? Cowboys' luck turns after black cat runs on field - Todd Archer, ESPN.com
The ESPN beat writer weighs in with his thoughts on the Dallas win.

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is superstitious. Coach Jason Garrett claims he is not, but he has been known to follow the same routine, like wearing the same sweatshirt day after day.

So when a black cat ran on the field in the second quarter Monday, things certainly did not favor the Cowboys with quarterback Dak Prescott's first pass of the game intercepted, wide receiver Randall Cobb losing a fumble and place-kicker Brett Maher missing a 54-yard field goal attempt to the left.

But after the cat scampered off the MetLife Stadium field, the Cowboys' luck changed and they were fortunate enough to leave with a 37-18 win -- outscoring the Giants, 34-9, after the feline left the field.

Don’t Forget These 5: Clutch Red-Zone Stops - Staff, DallasCowboys.com
The Mothership notes the Cowboys defense repeatedly came up big near the goalline in Monday night’s victory.

Smith stuffs Barkley in the hole – The Giants had just picked off Dak Prescott on the first play of the game and had a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line. After a 4-yard run by Saquon Barkley on first down, Barkley got it again on second down and met Jaylon Smith one-on-one in the hole. Smith had a nice tackle in the middle of the field, keeping the powerful back to just 2 yards, setting up a third-down. The Giants didn’t convert and had to settle for a field goal, giving the Cowboys a big stop after the early gift.

Woods snags the pick – Just before the half, the Cowboys seemed content to go into the locker room down 12-10, but Daniel Jones threw up a deep ball that Xavier Woods made a play on, picking off the pass and then returning it 29 yards to the Giants’ 39. That led to a 52-yard field goal by Brett Maher, giving the Cowboys a one-point lead at the break after the team struggled to stay in the game for the first quarter and a half.

Prescott's NFC East Domination Continues in Cowboys 37-18 Win Over the Giants - Matt Galatzan, SI.com
Dak Prescott’s night started slowly (to put it mildly) but he rebounded nicely.

If one thing has been clear in the Dak Prescott era in Dallas, it is that the Dallas Cowboys own the NFC East. Despite a tough start to Monday night, however, that trend continued, with the Cowboys dominating on both sides of the ball to the tune of a 37-18 in New York, and moving to 5-3 on the season.

Prescott's night started with an interception on the first play from scrimmage for either team. The Cowboys defense was able to hold New York to a field goal attempt, however, in what would become a trend throughout the night.

From there, the MVP candidate went 22-34 for 257 yards and three touchdowns, with a quarterback rating of a 101.7. His performance was also complemented by what was arguably Ezekiel Elliott's also best game of the season to this point, with Elliott carrying the ball 23 times for 139 yards, and averaging six yards per carry.

Giants vs. Cowboys score: Dallas starts slow, pulls away in second half to rout New York - Tyler Sullivan, CBSSports.com
The CBS Sports recap notes the Cowboys had to overcome early errors for the win.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to move to 5-3 and stay in the driver's seat of the NFC East after defeating the New York Giants (2-7) Monday at MetLife Stadium, 37-18.

While Dallas was able to walk away with the victory, they didn't exactly put their best foot forward to start. On the very first play Dak Prescott thew an interception and put the Giants inside the Cowboys' 10 yard line. The offense also stalled out in the red zone early, settled for field goals and Randall Cobb handed New York the football again with a fumble in the second quarter.

All those miscues allowed the Giants to go up by as much as 12-3, but, luckily for Dallas, New York didn't take full advantage of their opportunities either. When they were handed the ball at the Dallas eight to start the game, they couldn't go the rest of the way for a touchdown and settled for three, a common theme throughout the night.

Cowboys: Dak Prescott overcomes early miscue to lead win over Giants - Lorenzo Reyes, USAToday.com
A night that started very poorly for Dak Prescott ended up in triumph. But how often can that happen?

Dak Prescott looked on from the sidelines and shook his head.

On the Dallas Cowboys’ first play from scrimmage, he had thrown an interception and gave the New York Giants the ball on the Dallas eight-yard line. The television broadcast cameras caught him mouthing the words.

My bad.

It put the Cowboys in a familiar place, an early hole.

The Cowboys eventually fought back and secured the victory Monday night, 37-18, to improve to 5-3 and remain in first place in the NFC East. But Prescott’s first miscue was indicative of a problem that the Cowboys just can’t seem to mend: slow starts. It’s an issue that the Cowboys can seemingly overcome against weaker opponents — the Giants stumbled to 2-7 with the loss — but it presents a question as the team turns its focus toward a push to the postseason. Is it sustainable?

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