FRISCO, Texas — The New York Giants converted 9 of 11 third downs against the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener, the last of them a kneel-down. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday at The Star that Dallas is hurting itself one down earlier, on second-and-7 to 10.
New York held the ball for 36 minutes, 40 seconds in its 28-20 win on Sept. 13. The Giants put together two eight-minute touchdown drives in the second half and ran out the final 5:21. Dallas had two possessions after halftime and scored touchdowns on both.
Opponents converted 47.3% of their third downs against Dallas in 2025, the worst rate in the NFL.
Communication errors were part of it in the opener, Schottenheimer said, along with quarterbacks escaping tough spots.
“Well, it’s huge, number one,” Schottenheimer said. “We want to limit their opportunities. I think it goes back to a lot of different things. We’ve had some communication errors. That was well-versed in the first game. We’ve had a few times where we’ve had the quarterback in a tough position and he’s gotten out. They scrambled a couple times. And Rashan left his guy one time because it was so late in the play and the quarterback was running. So the quarterback found him and dropped him off. That happens.”
“But it’s basically just playing each play one play at a time,” Schottenheimer continued. “It’s not one call. It’s just, again, we have to be better. Really where we’re kind of hurting ourselves right now is a little bit in what we call G-Bot, second-and-7 to 10, because we’re not being very efficient. So why do you want to be good on second-and-7 to 10? Force more third-and-longs. And so that’s another area that we’re looking at.”
Dallas Cowboys Defense Against Washington Commanders
Dallas beat the Washington Commanders 37-20 on Sunday. Jayden Daniels ran 7 times for 69 yards before he dislocated his left elbow late in the first half, and Marcus Mariota played the second half.
Dee Winters led Dallas with 9 tackles and recovered a fumble. Cornerback Cobie Durant and safety P.J. Locke were both hurt in the game.
Lamar Jackson And Baltimore Ravens Next For Christian Parker Defense
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker, 34, is the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history. Through two games, the Cowboys have allowed 126 rushing yards to quarterbacks, the most in the NFL.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are next. Kickoff at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro is 3:25 p.m. CT Sunday on CBS, with Dallas as the designated home team.
