QUARTERBACK
-Drew Lock: 21/32 – 178 yards / 0 TD – 1 INT / 66.9 RAT
Lock was visibly and verbally frustrated about not being named the starter after Daniel Jones was benched despite being the gameday backup all season. It sounds like he has been underperforming in practices all season and this coaching staff (Daboll in particular) has a thing for Tommy DeVito (who missed the game with a forearm injury). Lock finally got his shot, but it was more of the same from what we have seen over his five-year career. Some good, but more bad. Lock was under pressure all afternoon from all angles. Some of the best play designs that had guys running free (or about to run free) were hampered by quick pressure. His stat line could have looked very different had the line played better. NYG receivers also dropped three passes, and he had two batted upon release. Lock did look a bit rusty when it came to clock management, but I did not put a negative game grade on him.
Lock was the leading rusher with 57 yards on four carries, one of which went for a touchdown. His scrambles of 29 and 21 yards respectively were the two biggest gains of the day. And he made three high level, tight-window throws. The last time Jones did that? Week 10 of 2020. That is not a side-jab to the former Giants quarterback, but it is a note that Lock made some things happen in this game. The initial stat line looks poor and while it was not a positive game grade, he played better than what those numbers suggest. His interception was a tipped pass on a screen play. I look forward to watching him play a few more games, as I think he is clearly the better quarterback when looking at this game compared to DeVito’s tape.
RUNNING BACK
-There were not many opportunities for the backs. Tyrone Tracy did not get the start after the fumble last week, but he did lead the team with 9 carries. He rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown while veteran Devin Singletary gained 23 yards on 7 carries. Tracy did add another 33 yards on 2 catches, however. He broke six tackles including a fourth-down conversion on the same drive as the one he scored on. His contact balance and ability to run through contact is the top trait in his game. That is what sets him apart.
WIDE RECEIVER
-Malik Nabers went back to being forced fed. Of the 32 passes on the day, he was thrown to on 13 of them. It was the most since week eight. That target share (37.5%) is slightly above the number he’s had all year (35.8%), which is the highest in the NFL this season. Nabers has been targeted the second most in the NFL – behind CeeDee Lamb – despite playing in less games. All of this action is creating what appears to be some competitive fatigue in his game. It is a thing I’ve had coaches tell me about in the past. I bring it up because Nabers dropped two more passes. Currently his game has a lot of greatness and lot of ugly.
-The trio of Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt each had two catches a piece. None of them ended with more than ten yards. Slayton had a shot at making two plays toward the end of the first half and he came up empty. He added a drop to his season total. For those not keeping track, the combination of Slayton and Nabers have dropped 14 passes this season. That is the highest in the NFL among teammates.
TIGHT END
-Theo Johnson had one of his most impressive performances of the season. For over a month now, we have seen how this rare combination of size, power, and speed can change an offense. He caught all 5 targets for 54 yards. Twenty-nine of those yards came after the catch after he broke tackles in the classic Mark Bavaro mold. Dallas defenders were bouncing off him. His blocking received yet another positive grade. The black eye on his game? A foot injury that is likely to end his season. This is a tough one to swallow not because of wins and losses for the 2024 season, but his development. I still have a strong feeling he will be a big part of the solution if this team turns it around soon, but he is a guy who simply needs reps to clean up the skill set and gain a better feel.
-Chris Manhertz and Daniel Bellinger were used in blocking roles only. Manhertz was flagged for a hold after getting abused by Micah Parsons in pass protection. Not exactly a fair assignment for a tight end on an island during a downfield pass progression, but he was brought in to block and nothing else.
OFFENSIVE LINE
-We spoke positively about Evan Neal after his first two starts. This was the first real test, however. Carolina and Tampa Bay did not have any above average edge talents to challenge the third-year pro who we need an answer on before the end of the season. The answer became clearer. Neal can’t play tackle. He will not be a guy who can be dependable against upper echelon edge rushers. Micah Parsons made him look silly over and over. Neal ended with four pressures, one sack, and one TFL allowed. He was also flagged for a false start on 3rd-and-7. Neal’s footwork was a disaster. I saw it live and confirmed it on the film-watch. No sense of special awareness, lower body placement, or timing. Even as a lead blocker where he pulled from his stance on trap blocks look too labored, which takes a bite out of the idea he could be a guard. Unfortunately, unless he miraculously turns it around these last few games, Neal is going to be crossed off the list of potential answers for the starting 2025 offensive line.
-Another regime-draft pick, John Michael Schmitz, was the other guilty culprit of the game up front. He allowed 2.5 sacks which is an astronomical number for a center. Dallas forced him to react laterally on an island in pass protection and it ended as expected. His run blocking and effort down the field were solid but Mazi Smith, a disappointing 2023 first-round defensive tackle for Dallas, has two really good games this season. Week 4 against Schmitz and NYG. Week 13 against Schmitz and NYG.
-Chris Hubbard has steadied his play a bit. By steadied, I mean he is still good for a handful of pressures and a sack which is what we saw in this one. Guards Greg Van Roten and Jon Runyan allowed two pressures a piece. In the limited run blocking, all three performed well.
EDGE
-Nice bounce back game for Kayvon Thibodeaux, who finished with a team-high five pressures with a couple QB hits. He was up against a struggling rookie and then backup Chuma Edoga. While those match-ups did him a favor or two, his rushes looked explosive and powerful. He was flagged twice, however. Once was on third down and the other was a late-hit personal foul. Thibodeaux is a useful player who still seems to have a mental block that limits the potential. He plays hesitantly and struggles to make quick, sound decisions.
-Brian Burns had a versatile, effective game as well. He had 3 pressures, 3 tackles, and broke up a couple passes. These two are an asset to this roster that I’m not sure everyone fully understands because of how infrequently this team plays with a lead.
-Tomon Fox played a season-high 28 snaps and added a tackle on an impressive stack-and-shed, along with a pressure, showing his plus power. I want to see him on the field more and more with Azeez Ojulari out for the year with yet another lower body injury, this time his toe. Good chance we’ve seen the last of Ojulari in an NYG uniform.
DEFENSIVE LINE
-I’ll start off with the bad Dexter Lawrence news. Still a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Lawrence suffered a nasty dislocated elbow on a tackle attempt. He finished with 3 tackles on 40 snaps but was shutout as a pass rusher for the second straight week. He’s lost some steam, and it is likely his season is over.
-Rakeem Nunez-Roches was active. He finished with 4 tackles and a pass break up. He will now be the feature guy on this defensive line. For those creating your draft-need list and/or first round possibility stacks? Keep this position in mind.
-DJ Davidson left the game early and even Nunez-Roches left the game “sore.” Jordon Riley, you now have the biggest opportunity of your young career. He will need to play better than what we have seen this year and what he put on tape against Dallas, who was missing All-Pro guard Zack Martin.
LINEBACKER
-Bobby Okereke played one of the best games of his season. While he also seems to be running out of steam over the second half of the season, he finished with 9 tackles, 3 TFL, and a pass break up. The backside pursuit is where he got caught with his pants down and that sudden re-direct just wasn’t there. It resulted in a couple of big runs.
-Micah McFadden had 4 tackles and a pass break up. He did add a TFL, but it was on a botched handoff. He added a pressure and penetrated well to cause another TFL. The explosive downhill linebacker is one of the most physical guys on this team. There is a role for him when looking at the future. I just would feel a lot better with him as the number three guy rather than a starter because he makes too many mistakes.
-Darius Muasau is not the answer. He got 14 more snaps and finished with a tackle, and he allowed a reception the one time he was thrown at. His lack of speed and range are obvious.
CORNERBACK
-Interesting game from this group. A lot of good and bad, but overall, it was a solid game by the unit. Adore’e Jackson got his first start of the season and played all 75 snaps. His previous season-high was 27. Deonte Banks missed the game with an injury, opening the door for the eighth-year pro. Dallas challenged him all afternoon and it was a roller coaster. He finished with two pass breakups downfield, one of which was negated by an offsides. He also got flagged downfield for pass interference and allowed a touchdown. He finished with 7 tackles and two misses. He will be motivated down the stretch as he tries to earn a contract for possibly the final years of his career.
-Cor’Dale Flott competed hard all day. Like Jackson, he did get beat deep downfield once for a 36-yard gain. Beyond that, he was nearly flawless. He allowed just 3-of-7 targets to be completed and he broke up two of them. He made 5 tackles without any missed, including a couple of physical plays and an open-field take-down. It was some of the better tape I’ve seen on him a he played nearly all of his snaps outside.
-Andru Phillips continued his high-risk/high-reward style, making 5 tackles but missing 2 and allowing all 4 targets to be completed.
-Art Green made two impact plays on the punt team as the gunner. The second-year undrafted free agent from Houston made an immediate tackle and downed one at the goal line.
SAFETY
-Tyler Nubin hit double digit tackles for the third straight week. However, as Bill Belichick likes to say, it is never a good thing when your safety is making a lot of tackles. The run defense has been horrid, but from an evaluation perspective, this has been a check mark for Nubin. He was flagged for a defensive hold on a questionable call.
-Jason Pinnock was more active in this game than what we have seen in recent games. It has been a quiet year for him. He and Dane Belton both missed tackles, but Belton had a nice third-down pass break up. He played just 15 snaps.
SPECIAL TEAMS
-Graham Gano: 2/2 (Made 46, 47)
-P Jamie Gillan: 5 punts / 45.6 avg – 46.2 net
3 STUDS
-TE Theo Johnson, CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB Bobby Okereke
3 DUDS
-OT Evan Neal, OC John Michael Schmitz, CB Andru Phillips
3 THOUGHTS ON DAL
(1) Did the contracts given to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb compromise their ability to sign Micah Parsons? While there is probably a way to engineer a path to getting him locked up long term, the possibility is alive and well he could be playing elsewhere soon. His fifth-year option kicks in next year at $21 million. On the open market, Parsons would quickly become the new highest-paid defender in the NFL. This will be a situation to monitor in the coming few months. If he isn’t locked in before 2025, this is the kind of guy who could be had for multiple future first rounders. With how Jerry Jones handles contracts, I see it is a possibility.
(2) As bad as the Giants situation is (among the worst in football, I know) – is Dallas that much better off when looking at the next few years? Their basement is certainly higher. A team with a real quarterback like Prescott and a true #1 receiver won’t bottom out to the point where they are picking high in the draft unless they get crushed by injuries early in the year. But with an unstable Micah Parsons situation and an offensive line that no longer plays near the dominant level they were at for a long time, what is there to truly get excited about? Their head coach places limited potential on their ceiling and ownership has always been “in it for the likes.” I’m not sure I would want to trade places with them right now, but then again, I’m a Super Bowl or bust type.
(3) If Dallas does not add a running back in the draft next year, I don’t know how in the world that can be defended. No matter what they think they have in Rico Dowdle and no matter what they do in free agency with limited funds, this running back class has Dallas written all over it. Ashton Jeanty (2,000 yard rusher from Boise State) will end with a high first-round grade and Dallas is a likely landing spot. If they pass on him round one, there are at least a handful of backs who would warrant a second rounder. This will be an absolute must for them in April.
3 CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) With Theo Johnson out for what I am assuming will be the rest of the year, I want to get a strong look at Greg Dulcich. NYG claimed him off of waivers from Denver last week and he is a guy who was incredibly intriguing coming out of UCLA in 2022. I had a second-round grade on him and wrote the following: “He has a unique blend of burst, speed, and ability to play an acrobatic brand….he may be the highest-upside receiver at the position in the class”. Now, I had Trey McBride graded as one of the top 25 players in the class that year and he has been the best tight end from the class after all. But that was a thought I had on Dulcich when he came out and he’s suffered multiple soft tissue injuries and was drafted pre-Sean Payton. They never really got going together. I like the idea of having two receiving threats in this offense next year and Dulcich is the one I want to see get a shot right now. We know what we do not have in Bellinger.
(2) Here is another scenario. Let’s say Schoen and Daboll both get to come back in 2025. Is the door left open for Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen? There is an apathetic approach to this defense overall. It is the worst run defense in the NFL and one of the worst in franchise history. He has an All-Pro at defensive tackle and a very solid group of personnel in the front seven. It is one thing to have a struggling defense. It is another thing to have one that can barely compete. While coaching changes do not always bring the changes many think it will, this is nearly all-time bad. And I haven’t even gotten to the 32nd-ranked interception total. Tennessee did not want him. He has under-performed in New York. That may be a top priority on this staff once the season is complete. Paging Steve Wilks.
(3) Sticking with the coaching banter because that is what gets asked the most beyond the QBs in the 2025 Draft – there is one disadvantage NYG is dealing with right now. Chicago, New York (A), and New Orleans have already fired their head coaches. I think Las Vegas and Jacksonville are coming soon. Those teams get a significant head start on the top candidates in addition to at least one of those spots (probably two) having a better situation to walk into. Firing is sometimes not the answer. But what is the replacement plan? If you can’t get your hands on one of the top one or two candidates, do you want to go down the path of taking possibly the third (or worse) guy?
