EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Isaiah Likely was targeted 8 times and caught all 8 for a game-high 78 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first game with the New York Giants, and Dallas Cowboys safety P.J. Locke said the plan was not a surprise.
“We knew what type of game that was going to be, man. We know Likely, he’s going to get his targets and everything,” Locke said. “We knew they were going to run the ball, try to shorten the game up, nickel and dime us a little bit, try to keep Jaxson Dart as efficient as possible. They did a great job today, man. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute. They capitalized on the plays we didn’t execute, and that was the game right there.”
Likely scored from 15 yards with 20 seconds left in the first half and from 2 yards on the opening drive of the second half. Dart finished 23-of-29 for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions.
Three Passes To Devin Singletary In The Left Flat
New York’s fourth-quarter touchdown drive covered 65 yards on 13 plays and took 8:11. Dart ran on three of the first four snaps, then threw three short passes to Devin Singletary in the left flat, the last of them a 9-yard touchdown with 7:26 left. Singletary caught 4 passes for 22 yards.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the problem was where his defenders were looking.
“It was a lot of bad eyes,” Schottenheimer said. “When you’re playing some of those match coverage zones, you’ve got to see who number three is. And, again, I think it’s really something that we could have gotten corrected better, should have. That’s our job as coaches, to put those guys in better position. And it goes with us and them, coaches and players.”
He said the same coverage rule broke down on the Likely touchdown before halftime.
“We’ve got to understand how to play quarter flat when you free release or check swing it back out of the backfield, and we didn’t do that,” Schottenheimer said. “And so those are things that we have to take a hard look at and figure out why, because it happened multiple times and we will.”
Brian Schottenheimer Credits The New York Giants Game Plan
Schottenheimer credited Giants offensive coordinator Nagy for how Likely was used.
“Likely, I thought he played a great game. I thought they used him really well. We knew that was going to be a weapon for him,” Schottenheimer said. “Give a lot of credit to Coach Nagy and the offensive staff. They had a really good game plan. And, again, we didn’t make enough adjustments.”
Asked whether the breakdowns were miscommunication, Schottenheimer pointed at youth on the defense. Quinnen Williams said communication was not the issue.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Quinnen Williams said. “We just got to execute. We got to communicate with each other and execute. And that’s all on us as a defense.”
Von Miller was more blunt.
“No, no communication issues,” Miller said. “We just got beat.”
What Isaiah Likely’s Night Cost The Dallas Cowboys
New York converted 9 of 11 third downs and went 4-for-4 in the red zone. Likely caught passes on third down of 13 yards in the first quarter, 19 yards in the second, 12 yards in the fourth, and 5 yards on the drive that closed the game out.
Likely joined the Giants this offseason after four seasons in Baltimore, where he played for coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh was hired by New York on Jan. 20.
Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
