Cowboys Most 'Amazing' Call: Speech Fuels Embarrassment of Giants: Notebook

The Dallas Cowboys could've played much worse and likely still would've handled the New York Giants by double digits on Sunday night.

In The City That Never Sleeps, the New York Giants will be hoping that they wake up from the nightmare that the Dallas Cowboys placed upon them at MetLife Stadium during Sunday night's 40-0 blowout win.   

The Cowboys could've played much worse and likely still would've handled their NFC East rival by double digits. Here's a look at what went right for the Cowboys and a potentially pointless review of the few forgettable mistakes that Dallas made under coach Mike McCarthy, who offered up a piece of pregame pep-talk guidance that seemingly "resonated.''

"Amazing,'' Cowboys QB Dak Prescott touted said of the team meeting in which McCarthy "took 5 minutes and told us to take our phones out.'' And why, he was asked by @YahooSports?

"Text, call and thank all the people who mean the most to you and who got you this point,'' the coach told his players.

And yeah. It worked. Just like most everything else on this night.

Parsons Parsons everywhere, and all the Giants did sink

For the Giants, Sunday night's blowout loss drew some similarities to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: tons of water due to the downpour, hopelessness, and just wanting it all to end. The first-half play of Micah Parsons is a major reason why.

“I think we’re making a statement that we’ve been trying to make: We’re the best defense in the National Football League," Parsons said after the game.

The pass-rushing prowess from Parsons set the tone early, and the Cowboys defense didn't look back. He got things started with an easy sack against a Giants double team while continuing to make his presence felt all over the backfield.

Even with the game basically decided by the start of the third quarter, the Dallas d-line kept applying all-out pressure on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones right up until the final horn.

Dallas defense decimates

While the focus understandably goes toward Parsons, it was hardly a one-man show for the Cowboys defense. Dallas finished the night with eight passes defended, two interceptions, one touchdown, seven sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Even in a game script that presented the need for Jones to pull the ball in the air to get the Giants offense going, he still only finished with 104 passing yards.

© Ed Mulholland, USA TODAY

Right place, right time for DaRon Bland

Whether intentional or not, Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland picked up where he left off after an impressive five-interception season as a rookie last year. He was gift-wrapped the sixth interception of his young career after Trevon Diggs popped a would-be catch from Saquon Barkley into the air, which landed right to Bland. 

He returned it untouched for a 22-yard touchdown on a play thatt made it clear early how very little was going to go right for New York.

Regardless of the lucky touchdown, Bland appears set to take another leap this season for a Dallas defense that could give him more opportunities at making big plays.

Trades paying off?

The Cowboys saw their two top offseason trade acquisitions make an immeditate impact on Sunday.

Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore got a tough interception in the second quarter after a head-scratching throw from Jones. His first pick as a Cowboy, the takeaway signaled the beginning of the end for the Giants. Gilmore finished the night with a game-high three passes defended and four solo tackles.

With the offense hardly having to do much, veteran receiver Brandin Cooks made his Cowboys debut as well, though it came a bit quietly. He only finished with two catches for 22 yards, but both instances showed how he's more than capable of still making difficult catches in traffic.

Trading for this duo is already looking a major win for the Cowboys.

Reviewing the few Dallas mistakes

It's difficult to talk about miscues from a team that just won 40-0 on the road, but we'll go ahead and do it anyways. After all, the Cowboys have to try to correct something when looking at the game film.

In no particular order:

- Peyton Hendershot dropped easy touchdown

- One play later, Tony Pollard fumbled but Dallas recovered

- Brandon Aubrey missed extra point after game's first touchdown

- Dak Prescott too high on throw to CeeDee Lamb in end zone in second quarter

If we're missing any notable mistakes, it probably doesn't matter. The Cowboys just beat the Giants 40-0 at MetLife. What more could fans ask for to begin the season?