The Dallas Cowboys rolled over the division rival Giants in Week 5. Trevon Diggs continued his incredible interception streak, Dak Prescott finally put his 2020 ankle injury to rest almost exactly a year later, and Ezekiel Elliott had a close call with a piece of field equipment that most people had never thought much about before.
Elsewhere, the Cowboys likely won’t rush any of their injured reserve players back and are expected to wait until after the Week 7 bye to re-activate some of their stars. Wideout Amari Cooper has broken an unofficial rule by mentioning that game at the end of the season that teams aren’t supposed to talk about. Linebacker Jabril Cox could be looking at a bump in playing time, the Cowboys offense made an impressive statement late on Sunday, and the Giants receiver who was ejected for throwing a punch has apologized. Just not to the punch’s target.
The numbers show that throwing at Diggs is statistically the worst thing a quarterback can do… and it turns out the talented corner was playing Week 5 at way less than 100%. All that, plus all of our Cowboys Wire coverage of Sunday’s win… and rookie phenom Micah Parsons shows off his competitive side, even when it doesn’t matter in the slightest. Here’s the News and Notes.
Update: Timeline for DeMarcus Lawrence, IR players :: The Mothership
The Cowboys appear to be in no rush to bring any of their Injured Reserve players back before the Week 7 bye. Wide receiver Michael Gallup and rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph are among those on that list. Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore are likely still “at least another month away,” as per chief operating officer Stephen Jones.
Amari Cooper on Cowboys’ 4-1 start: ‘When you’re on a roll like this, you start thinking about a Super Bowl’ :: NFL.com
Leave it to the cerebral wide receiver to say what Cowboys fans are surely thinking. “When you’re on a roll like this, you start thinking about a Super Bowl. That’s just the reality of it,” Cooper said. “You start to want it more and more the closer you get, and you start to worry about the little things more.” What are those little things? A lackluster start and early turnovers, for starters. “We don’t need to have those mistakes,” added Cooper.
McCarthy, Cowboys players marvel at The Trevon Diggs Show: ‘Never seen anything like it’ :: Cowboys Wire
The second-year cornerback continues to impress everyone from his Cowboys teammates, staff writers for the team, Richard Sherman, and Coach McCarthy. “The ball goes up in the air, and he’s coming down with it,” McCarthy said. “I don’t even think it’s a 50/50 ball anymore.” Diggs’s six interceptions put him ahead of 29 entire NFL teams. Diggs also shared more about his reaction to Nick Saban moving him to defense back in college; Prescott says Diggs is badgering him for receiver reps in Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys reveal Trevon Diggs added to NFL-interception lead with pink eye :: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
No defensive back in the NFL has been a bigger ballhawk over the first five games of the season than Diggs. But this hawk has been dealing with compromised vision, coordinator Dan Quinn revealed. “He really had a tough week battling the pink eye, both eyes, gunk and nastiness flowing out of his eyes,” Quinn said. “It would have been easy for him to back away and say I’ve got to get this right… I thought it showed a lot for him to battle through.”
Spiking the ball every play is more effective than testing Trevon Diggs in coverage :: Pro Football Focus (Twitter)
Lowest passer rating allowed this season:
1. Trevon Diggs – 38.9
— Spiking the ball every play 39.6 —
2. Jaylon Johnson – 41.4
3. Anthony Averett – 41.7 pic.twitter.com/7lx1T4bRMV— PFF (@PFF) October 11, 2021
Dallas Cowboys’ offense puts up 515 yards, showing it’s always ‘in the strike zone’ :: ESPN
Perhaps the most impressive thing the Cowboys did on Sunday was the 98-yard scoring drive they engineered in the fourth quarter, already up by 14 points. Rather than ease off the gas, as they nearly did a week prior versus Carolina, Dallas ground it out, chewing up nearly five minutes of game time and adding another touchdown. The multifaceted offense showed that it can impose its will on a defense at any point on the field.
Cowboys’ Elliott explains brief scare from pylon hit: ‘Maybe they should find a new spot for it’ :: Cowboys Wire
Elliott stayed down on the turf after landing on a first-down pylon in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, but returned shortly thereafter to add to his impressive totals on the day. “That thing is kind of hard. Maybe they should find a new spot for it,” he joked. “I think it is foamy, but it’s hard.” McCarthy doesn’t expect the blow to cause any availability issues for Elliott this week.
Kadarius Toney apologizes for throwing punch vs Dallas Cowboys :: Sportsnaut
The Giants’ rookie receiver apologized for throwing a punch at Damontae Kazee during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. He tweeted, in part, “your emotions just can get the best of you sometimes…” Toney was ejected by officials; NFL Network has reported that Toney is likely to be fined but not suspended by the league.
Jabril Cox could see his defensive snap count increased significantly in the not-too-distant future :: Blogging the Boys
The fourth-round rookie shows up on the depth chart as LB4, but he’s making the most of limited chances. He raced to keep Giants quarterback Daniel Jones out of the end zone on a keeper, the kind of play that the recently-released Jaylon Smith might have made just a couple seasons ago. It was also the kind of play that could put Cox on the field more moving forward.
Dak Prescott leads Cowboys rout, exorcises injury demons: ‘The final shovel in burying this thing’ :: Cowboys Wire
Prescott admits that he was in “a slow mental fog” early in the Week 5 game, in part because of all the hype surrounding the one-year anniversary of his ankle injury, in the same building and against the same opponent. A few turnovers and Giants injuries only intensified it. But a long touchdown bomb to CeeDee Lamb helped him shake it off en route to a big passing day, the final nail in the coffin of his long recovery.
Micah Parsons doesn’t lose at anything :: Michael Gehlken (Twitter)
Cowboys players went live on Instagram from locker room, as LB Micah Parsons competed vs. CB Jourdan Lewis. “The lion is always hungry.” CeeDee Lamb with the call.
Dallas on a four-game winning streak. pic.twitter.com/1joDUjR49v
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 11, 2021
Recaps, awards, analysis of Cowboys’ big Week 5 division win :: Cowboys Wire
Sunday’s 44-20 rout of the Giants may have moved the Cowboys into the conversation about who the best team in the NFC is. Here are the Cowboys Wire breakdowns of who showed up big, who looked good, and what still needs work.
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