NOTES: Cowboys’ D line keeps Giants in check

The Cowboys proved again on Monday night that they have running back Saquon Barkley’s number.

Dallas used a smothering front seven, led by defensive tackles Quinton Bohanna, Osi Odighizuwa, and Trysten Hill, to keep Barkley in check for all of his carries but one – a 36-yard burst in the third quarter.

“Our play style is where it needs to be, and I think our defense does a great job of that,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said after the win. “They set the tone for us.”

For the fourth straight game, the Dallas defense held the Giants’ star running back under 100 yards, giving up just 81 yards on 14 carries to Barkley in the Cowboys’ 23-16 win.

Barkley did score the Giants’ lone touchdown in the loss on his big 36-yard burst, just his second TD against the Cowboys in seven starts.

If you take away Barkley’s only big run of the night, he averaged just a mere 3.46 yards per carry, while quarterback Daniel Jones finished with 79 yards rushing, most coming while scrambling out of the pocket, on just nine carries.

“The temperament, as always, was exactly what you are looking for,” McCarthy said. “We made big plays … but we came in to stop Daniel Jones on the scramble and run, and Saquon. But they both had some production, so we will go back and learn from that and be better for it.”

For Barkley, Monday night’s loss would be far from the worst game he has played against the Cowboys. No, he was held to just 28 yards rushing on 11 attempts in his first meeting with Dallas in 2018 and then again on 14 attempts in the teams’ second meeting of 2019.

Barkley has averaged just under 61 yards per game against the Cowboys and has just two total touchdowns in the seven meetings.

The Cowboys’ defense will see Barkley and Giants again on Thanksgiving Day, this time at the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium.

Peters, Tolbert make debuts

Two Cowboys made their season and franchise debuts in Monday night’s win at the New York Giants, as rookie Jalen Tolbert got in the game at wide receiver and nine-time pro bowl lineman Jason Peters came in for Matt Farniok at guard on the third series of the game.

“Jason has done an awesome job coming in here and really showing up Week 1,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Getting into all the football aspects of it, just going through the process of the training and practice and a new system. He has done an awesome job for us.”

Tolbert, a third-round pick out of South Alabama this year, made just one catch on two targets for four yards. He finished with 23 offensive snaps played in the game.

But while Tolbert’s impact was very minimal, the same can’t be said for Peters. On Peters’ first play in the game at left guard, the Cowboys ran Tony Pollard behind the recent signee and tackle Tyler Smith for a 46-yard gain. The Cowboys ended the drive with a field goal and a 6-3 lead.

“It was great to get Jason out there,” McCarthy said. “We just wanted to be smart for the first night.”

Peters would end up playing just 14 plays in the game but helped the Cowboys’ running game amass 176 yards in the win.

“We could have probably got (Peters) a little more (playing time) in the second half, but this was good,” McCarthy said.

Cowboys face familiar QB vs. Washington

Carson Wentz will be under center for Washington when the Commanders hit the field on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium and looking to make it three straight wins as a starter over Dallas.

Wentz will make his first start against the Cowboys in a Commanders’ uniform but owns a 4-4 record against Dallas while the starting quarterback in Philadelphia.

While with the Eagles, Wentz beat the Cowboys both times in 2017 while also garnering one win in 2019 and a victory in his final start against Dallas in 2020.

In his eight starts, Wentz has completed 67 percent of his passes for just a tick under 230 yards per game. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in those games while also being sacked 17 times. His best game against Dallas came in the November meeting in 2018, where he completed 32 of 44 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-20 loss in Philadelphia.

Giants move up Cowboys’ All-Time wins list

With the win over the New York Giants on Monday, the Cowboys improved their all-time record against the G-men to 72-46-2.

It is the second most wins for Dallas against any franchise in the NFL.

Dallas owns the most wins in franchise history over the Washington Commanders, where they have 75 wins in 122 games, while they have 69 wins in 120 games against Philadelphia for third on the list.

After the current NFC East teams, where Dallas faces the Giants, Commanders, and Eagles twice a season, the Cowboys own 56 wins over the Arizona Cardinals, who resided in the NFC East through the 2001 season.

After the current and former division rivals, the Cowboys have only played one team in the NFL more than 30 times in their history – the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys have won 18 of those meetings to date.

The Cowboys have an all-time losing record against six teams – Green Bay (13-16), San Francisco (14-15), Cleveland (13-16), Las Vegas (6-7), Denver (4-9), and Baltimore (1-5).

Turpin close to return TD

KaVontae Turpin was a kicker’s outstretched arm trip away from returning a punt for his first NFL touchdown.

Turpin took a Jamie Gillan punt at the Cowboys 37, and weaved through the first wave of Giants’ defenders before breaking free up the left sidelines.

Turpin looked to cut back toward the middle of the field to avoid Gillan but couldn’t get past his outstretched arm, getting tackled at the Giants’ 35 for a 28-yard return.

Turpin, brought in this season specifically to add a spark to the return game, had six kick returns for touchdowns in college at TCU. He finished his run in Fort Worth with four punt returns – one in each of his four seasons and two kickoff returns – one coming in each of his junior and senior seasons.