NFL

Cowboys surge to victory with dominant second half against Giants

By Sports Desk November 24, 2022

The Dallas Cowboys' defense woke up at half-time and took over the game against the New York Giants, carrying their side to a 28-20 victory on Thanksgiving.

Playing on the road, it was the Giants who led early, with two field goals and a Saquon Barkley goal-line touchdown giving the visitors a 13-7 lead at the long break.

What was a competitive contest in the first half turned into one-way traffic in the third quarter, with Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz punctuating back-to-back drives with touchdown catches to jump ahead 21-13 heading into the fourth.

The last quarter was more of the same, adding another touchdown with a hand-off to backup tight end Peyton Hendershot from the two-yard line to complete the rout.

New York only had four possessions after half-time, resulting in a punt and two turnovers-on-downs, before a consolation touchdown in the final seconds with the game well-and-truly decided, as the Cowboys showed why many are picking them as the best defensive team in the NFL.

Defensive Player of the Year favourite Micah Parsons collected two of the Cowboys' three sacks on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, taking his tally for the season to 12, trailing only Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots (13).

The Cowboys' two-pronged rushing attack also delivered, with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combining for 152 yards and a touchdown from 34 carries, while CeeDee Lamb led all receivers with six catches for 106 yards. Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes with two interceptions on 21-of-30 passing for 261 yards.

The result breaks the tie between the two sides in the NFC East, with the Cowboys now owning sole possession of second place in the NFC East at 8-3, while the Giants slipped to 7-4.

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    Wales boss Warren Gatland admits he has “no idea” if Louis Rees-Zammit will play rugby union again following his switch to American football.

    While Wales prepare for a Guinness Six Nations opener against Scotland, Rees-Zammit will be concentrating on the NFL’s International Player Pathway in the hope of forging a gridiron career.

    His move to the United States with immediate effect has left Wales and his club Gloucester without a box-office wing, whose try-scoring ability thrilled crowds on domestic, European and international stages.

    Rees-Zammit’s rugby union career comes to a halt after winning 32 Wales caps and a World Cup campaign in France when he scored five tries.

    Asked if the 22-year-old would come back to rugby one day, Gatland said: “No idea. There aren’t a lot of people who make it in the NFL who haven’t been brought up with the game and played it at a young age.

    “There is probably not a lot of difference with rugby league players (trying to play union). Unless you have been brought up playing union, some are able to make it, but very few.

    “So it is going to be a challenge for him, but good luck to him.

    “We saw Christian Wade (ex-Wasps and England wing) do it, and if you look at rugby league, there was Jarryd Hayne from Australia who had a few games but wasn’t really able to crack it.

    “Christian got quite close to doing it. He was a bit older, though. Louis sees it as an opportunity at his age, and if he doesn’t take that chance now it probably won’t come around again.

    “We are disappointed to lose a talent like him, but we’ve just got to take that on the chin, move on and focus on the rest of the squad.

    “The last thing I can do is dwell on losing him, because the focus has got to be on preparing the squad for the first game.”

    Gatland believes that American football will see a player who is “a bit of a freak as an athlete” and someone who is still developing in the sporting arena.

    “I thought he was outstanding in the World Cup,” Gatland added. “The pleasing thing for me was that he hardly missed a training session and he was playing well.

    “He is probably a bit of a freak as an athlete. He is a freak physically and he gets a chance to challenge himself.

    “He has obviously been a big fan (of the NFL) as a youngster and he has got a very high profile away from the game in terms of social media, so this probably helps him enhance that. I am not saying that is a negative at all.”

    Another player who will not be part of Wales’ Six Nations squad is 21-year-old Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

    Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso qualifies for Wales and England, but he is believed to have been involved in a recent England alignment camp organised by head coach Steve Borthwick.

    He could now be named in Borthwick’s Six Nations squad, which is announced on Wednesday.

    Gatland said: “I didn’t personally speak to him. Mike Forshaw (Wales defence coach) had a conversation with him and he had expressed that he wanted to go down the English route, so good luck to him with that.

    “He has definitely got some talent, there is no doubt about it. He is as green as anything.

    “He has obviously had an approach from England, and he has decided to take that path.”

  • Dallas Cowboys cruise to Thanksgiving win over Washington Commanders Dallas Cowboys cruise to Thanksgiving win over Washington Commanders

    Dak Prescott threw for four touchdown passes as the Dallas Cowboys eased to a 45-10 Thanksgiving victory over the Washington Commanders.

    Tony Pollard added a seven-yard touchdown run while DaRon Bland rounded things off with a 63-yard interception return for a score – his fifth of the season to set an NFL record.

    The win lifts the Cowboys to 9-3 and stretched their home-winning run to 13 matches.

    For the Commanders, who have lost eight of their last 10 matches, Sam Howell threw for 300 yards and ran for a touchdown.

    The Green Bay Packers beat NFC North leaders the Detroit Lions 29-22.

    Jordan Love connected with Christian Watson from 53 yards on the first play of the game and ended with three touchdown passes.

    Opposite number Jared Goff struggled against the Packers defence, fumbling three times – one of which was returned for a touchdown by Jonathan Owens.

  • On this day in 2018 – Christian Wade quits rugby in bid to launch NFL career On this day in 2018 – Christian Wade quits rugby in bid to launch NFL career

    Former England winger Christian Wade announced his retirement from rugby union at the age of 27 on this day in 2018 as he looked to launch an American football career.

    Wade, the fourth highest tryscorer in English club rugby on 82, was granted early release from his Wasps contract after nine years at the club to join NFL team the Buffalo Bills.

    In doing so he halved his salary from the £250,000 a year he was earning in the Gallagher Premiership. The move never took off on the field either as he failed to make the Bills’ roster.

    Slough-born Wade, who won his only England cap in 2013 against Argentina, described the decision to leave rugby as the hardest in his life.

    He said: “After playing nine years of professional sport for Wasps, I’ve decided to leave for personal reasons.

    “I would like to thank Wasps chairman Derek Richardson and Dai (Young, director of rugby) for their support, consideration and understanding in what is the most difficult decision of my life.

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    A post shared by Christian Wade (@christianwade3)

     

    “Rugby has privileged and honoured me with so many wonderful memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

    Wasps were third in the Gallagher Premiership and bottom of their Heineken Champions Cup group when Wade, who as well as winning one England cap also represented the 2013 British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia, announced he was leaving.

    “It’s very disappointing to lose a player of Wadey’s quality at this stage of the season,” Young said.

    “The club held numerous discussions with him to try and convince him to keep pushing forward with Wasps but in the end it was clear this is the path he wished to go down. The club nevertheless wants to wish him all the best with his future career path.”

    Using the NFL’s international player pathway program to facilitate the switch, Wade made waves by scoring a 65-yard touchdown as a running back in pre-season, but a regular season game eluded him.

    The experiment lasted three years and in September 2022 he returned to rugby after agreeing a deal to join French side Racing 92.

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