Dallas Cowboys Week 12 – Delayed Reaction

Nov 23, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back

(23) is swarmed by Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Dallas Cowboys defeat the New York Giants 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Before I start the delayed reaction for week 12, let me first say that the refs were terrible in this game. There were so many blown calls, missed calls, questionable calls, and just plain strange calls I am slightly surprised the Dallas Cowboys were able to overcome them. However, they did and won a hard fought NFC East game.

The other thing to note on a possibility as to why this was such an ugly game is the Cowboys are coming off a buy and having to play two rivals in the same week. It is well known that when you have a Thursday game, especially a Thanksgiving game, you prepare for both teams at the same time. I think with the Eagles tied for the division lead there might have been more focus on them and less on the Giants, we will find out Thursday.

It wasn’t always pretty, but they got the win in a way that the team hasn’t really been able to do in years past. So since this is a win, let’s look at the positives first.

1. Never Say Die – One thing that has made fans believers this season is the fact this team never gives up. In the last few years many of us would have watched this game waiting for the gut-wrenching late game failure by this team. This season feels different. It was almost like watching magic on the last drive of the Cowboys. Tony Romo looked sharp hitting Dez Bryant, Coale Beasley, and of course Jason Witten. If they can get everyone else involved more this will be the best offense in the league.

2. Step On Up – The defense looked really bad in the first half. However, when the team needed them the most at the end of the game they came through with a 4th down stop. Rolando McClain looks like a first round player, the line is getting a little more push, and J.J. Wilcox is a wrecking ball in the secondary. They came together at half and put together a pretty nice second half.

3. Tick Tock – One of the things that Jason Garrett has been bashed about is his clock management. In this game he managed it really well and for all the issues he has had in the past, this is the type of game he needs to call every week. He kept enough time for Tony to do his thing on the last drive and left the Giants a little bit to try something. It was refreshing to see.

There were some bad to this game, so let’s get to it.

1. Will the Real D Please Stand Up? – This was two different defenses in the same game. They were getting shredded in the first half by a rookie WR, and a mediocre RB. There was not a lot of pressure until the very end of the first half. In the second half they made some adjustments and seemed to want to make a point that they were not what everyone saw in the first half. It is obvious the longer they are on the field the worse this defense looks. They need to get stops and get off the field.

2. Keep Your Cool – Now some of the calls were questionable, and if no one saw O’dell Beckham throw the ball at Orlando Scandrick and not get called knows exactly what I am talking about. However, there were some late hits and too many personal fouls. The defense needs to play with poise instead of getting frustrated. It only hurts the team when the Giants were able to add 15 yards after a large gain.

3. Pressure, Pushing Down On You – While the Cowboys were able to finally get to Eli Manning, it was not a good sign they struggled against a patchwork line of backups and mediocre players. If this team wants to get far into the playoffs Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Lawrence need to find ways to get to the QB more. Even the threat of them getting home needs to be there so the offensive line has to account for them, allowing others to get more push.

So there it is, the Delayed Reaction for this week. Since the next game is on Thanksgiving I will most likely do a delayed reaction Saturday or Sunday and have something different on Tuesday. Let me know what you all think in the comments below.