Cowboys Beat Giants To Show Odell Beckham Jr. Why They Should Be Leaders To Land WR
It was billed as the Odell Beckham Jr. Bowl and the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants showed in their own distinct ways which team the unrestricted receiver should pick in the coming weeks.
The Cowboys beat the Giants 28-20 in a game that didn't feel quite as close as the score -- particularly in the second half when the Giants got shut out until they scored a late TD with 8 seconds left to play.
"Pretty much scored on every drive in the second half but the last one," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said on the FOX broadcast. "That's what this team can do when we tighten our focus and finish the way that we can."
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott outplayed counterpart Daniel Jones of the Giants. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Cowboys Should Lead Beckham Jr. Derby
If Beckham Jr. is seeking to play with a more talented and balanced team, a team more likely to advance in the postseason, a team with a better quarterback and better surrounding offensive talent, the choice is clear following this game.
(Actually the choice was clear before this game, but this one solidified things).
The Cowboys should be the Beckham Jr. leaders in the clubhouse now.
It must be said Beckham isn't likely to be fully persuaded by this game alone. He still plans to visit the Cowboys in two weeks -- as first reported by FOX Sports -- tentatively on Dec. 5.
The Giants are still unclear when they will host Beckham Jr. but want to meet, in part, because of ownership's desire to at least make an attempt at adding the dynamic receiver.
The Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens also have interest in Beckham Jr. although they also don't have visits locked down yet.
So why are the Cowboys looking like the leaders for Beckham Jr. now?
They've been the most vocal in their desire to add him, with owner Jerry Jones, Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons going very public in their recruiting of Beckham Jr.
And then, of course, one assumes Beckham Jr. has eyes. And he definitely was using them to watch this one.
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and his offense had a poor outing against the Cowboys (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Giants Need More Than Just Beckham Jr.
The Cowboys have swept the Giants this year. So Dallas continues its chase of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East while the Giants, losers of two in a row, seem more likely to be chasing a wild card spot at best.
Beckham, according to a source, wants to play for a team that is not just postseason-bound but likely to stay in the tournament a while.
Beckham must also see the difference in quarterback play between the Cowboys and Giants because the juxtaposition between Prescott and Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was kinder to the Cowboys signal-caller.
While both quarterbacks had similar statistics, Prescott was more dynamic. He completed five passes of 20 yards or more. Jones had only two such passes.
On the Giants biggest play of the game, a fourth-and-1 pass to Saquon Barkley, Jones delivered an inaccurate pass that was behind the running back. A pass catching Barkley in stride might have resulted in a walk-in touchdown.
"That was a good chance to go ahead and get the first down and didn't get it," Daboll said.
It was definitely not the Giants' finest hour as they had 10 men on the field on the play. Football, by the way, is played with 11 players on the field.
"Can't happen," said Daboll, who didn't explain why it happened.
The Cowboys also clearly have a more room for error than the Giants. If New York doesn't get big plays from Barkley, it will likely struggle.
The Cowboys this season put together winning streaks without Prescott in the lineup and without running back Ezekiel Elliott in the lineup.
And when they are in the lineup, the Cowboys make plays in big moments.
The Cowboys showed themselves superior on the money down, third down, by converting 7 of 11. The Giants converted only 3 of 11.
"They made some plays," Daboll said. "That team's got a lot of good receivers and they made some good plays. Give them credit, they made good plays.
"Our guys competed, but they made plays."