FRISCO, Texas — Off-tackle runs were the problem, Stephen Jones said Monday, and the Dallas Cowboys front that was built to stop them did not hold up.
New York gained 165 rushing yards on 37 carries in Sunday night’s 28-20 win. The Giants held the ball for 36:40.
“I think just running the ball off tackle, we felt really good that we, you know, what we’ve done, what we’ve put together there with Q and Kenny Clark and Tito and Bull and, you know, then having the ends on the outside, [Rashan] Gary, we just felt like we could get that done,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan‘s “K&C Masterpiece.”
Jones continued: “But they were, you know, they were a step ahead of us. And, you know, it wasn’t like they were popping explosives. They were just grinding it out. They would get four and five and six.”
Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark are the Cowboys’ two defensive captains. Rashan Gary arrived in a March trade with Green Bay and has 46.5 sacks in 106 career games.
Cam Skattebo rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 4.5 yards per carry.
“They were certainly, you know, had a game plan in mind to use their big running back, [Skattebo], who had a hell of a night and ran hard,” Jones said. “And, you know, they possessed the ball, which can be frustrating, especially when you’ve got an offense like we have that we think can make plays.”
Stephen Jones On John Harbaugh
Sunday was John Harbaugh‘s first game as Giants head coach. New York signed 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard in the offseason, and Jones was asked whether that is where the league is headed.
“That’s part of what Coach Harbaugh, that’s part of his DNA, is to have big physical football teams,” Jones said. “And certainly the Giants, if you look at their roster, they’ve got some big physical football players that they’ve drafted high over the years.”
Jones said earlier in the interview: “Hats off to Coach Harbaugh. He’s one of the great coaches in this league. He’s won so many football games. He’s won Super Bowl championships. He’s been to a lot of conference championships. I mean, he’s a great football coach. You don’t expect any less from his football teams. They were well coached, and they out-physicaled us last night.”
Harbaugh won Super Bowl XLVII with Baltimore in the 2012 season.
Jones added: “That’s not the way we want to be going forward in the future. And we’ve got to be better.”
Where The Dallas Cowboys Lost Third Down
New York converted 9 of 11 third downs.
“But in general, I think it was pretty obvious,” Jones said. “They were just more physical than us on first and second down and made the plays on third down that they needed to.”
“We didn’t get their tight end likely covered, and we didn’t get [Nabers] covered,” Jones said. “Now, those are two really good players, but we couldn’t get the job done on third down, getting those guys covered, and they made big plays for them.”
Tight end Isaiah Likely caught all 8 of his targets for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first game with New York. Malik Nabers caught 6 passes for 69 yards in his return from a torn ACL suffered in Week 4 of last season.
“We’ve got work to do,” Jones said. “As you said, do you compartmentalize it? It takes a day.”
Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
