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ARLINGTON, Texas – 58 seconds into Sunday night's AT & T game, the DeMarcus Lawrence Cowboys defeated the Giants offensive line, sacked Eli Manning and rushed to meet the Giants. his personal space. Lawrence instinctively put his hands in Solder's chest and pushed the $ 62 million tackle so he could stretch his arms to the side and bathe in the roar of the crowd in full capacity.
"I make a bag, that's my area," said Lawrence, describing his space with his hands. "Does not work in my area, it's disrespectful."
It was no more disrespectful than what the Cowboys (1-1) did to the Giants a good part of the night, pushing them with little significant resistance in a 20-13 win that was not as close as the score could indicate.
While Dallas QB Dak Prescott faced the "challenge" of beating the Giants in the air for a week, he responded in the third meeting with Tavon Austin's discovery for a 64-yard touchdown. the spotlight should probably have been on New York's shortcomings on the offensive line.
The unit needed to be upgraded a year ago, when it struggled to create lanes and protect Manning.
Solder left New England to sign a free agent contract which, at the time, made him the highest paid offensive lineman in the league. Left guard Will Hernandez was drafted in the second round to give hardness and attitude. Patrick Omameh had to bring his experience and his leadership. And Ereck Flowers, well, he thought he would be less responsible on the right tackle.
Until now, the plan has failed miserably. The attack scored a total of two touchdowns from a 0 to 2 start, and Manning was sacked eight times and knocked on at least nine other occasions.
The biggest draw is that the struggles up front are handcuffing one of the most backward groups in the league.
Consider last night: Receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard were virtually invisible with seven harmless receptions for 75 yards combined; Striker Evan Engram collected 40 of his 67 yards (and his only score) after New York was beaten 20-3 in the fourth quarter; and running back Saquon Barkley won just 28 yards in 11 runs and, although he finished with 80 yards in 14 receptions, almost all of them were check-ups or rockets on which he had to miss out. # 39; a.
"Just not good enough," Manning said. "We did not perform well."
After being injured, center Jon Halapio suffered a right leg injury late in the third quarter and had to be transported after the leg was placed in an air throw.
As one would expect, coach Pat Shurmur was faced with questions as to whether Manning, a 15-year-old veteran, trusted his blockers.
"He's a pro and he's beaten throughout the match," he said. "I thought that he had done a good job, I feel that trust, yes."
While the game amplified worries about the state of the Giants, it eased – at least for a week – criticism of the Cowboys offense, which converted only two of the 11 third losses and failed. than a fourth touchdown. loss to Carolina. Much of the focus was on Prescott, who has collected less than 200 yards for the seventh time in his last nine games.
Security giants Landon Collins went so far as to publicly declare during the week that they wanted to put the ball in Prescott's hands and have him beat in the air.
"Challenge accepted", the answer came.
Prescott, in his third season, opened the shotgun match and found Allen Hurns on a 9-meter incline. Two games later, he saw Austin beat the line's coverage and pitched a left-back pass for the 64-yard score, which ranks as the fourth-longest in his career. He went back on his second run and also got 12, 19, 15 and 15-yard finishes.
"I kind of said 'challenge accepted'. [to Collins’ comment]but I can say that I was not the only one to accept it, "said Prescott." This team accepted it. This offense accepted him. We wanted to go out and show these guys. "
Prescott said that he did not consider the comment as a lack of respect: "You have to put it in the hands of someone … I do not think about it as much as you do."
He finished 16th on 25 passes for 160 yards and rushed seven times for 45 yards.
"He controlled the attack," Collins said.
But what stood out was his ability to create games as needed. As at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Dallas wanted to make sure the match was eliminated. Leading 13-3, he led a 14-game, 82-yard game that included two third and fourth conversion conversions. He passed 5-for-6 and ran twice for 17 yards.
"It was important that we go out on the pitch and touch a touchdown and not just a goal on the pitch," he said. "It was a huge effort – making big games, opening receivers, protecting the offensive line."
Manning looked probably very envied. The challenge ahead of him and the Giants now seems bigger than what Shurmur described in the preseason, when he told reporters, "We will go as far as this line will block for us."
The giants can only wonder if these words will be written on the gravestone for the 2018 season.
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