Tag: 2021 season week 15

Cowboys S Damontae Kazee fined for Week 15 horse-collar tackle vs NYG

Damontae Kazee saved a touchdown with his tackle of Giants RB Davontae Booker. It cost the Cowboys 15 yards, but will cost Kazee over $6K. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee made the league’s naughty list for a horse-collar tackle of Giants running Devontae Booker in the week before Christmas. It cost Dallas 15 yards at the time of the infraction; now it’s costing Kazee a tidy chunk of change, too.

Kazee’s pull-down came on the Giants’ opening possession of the third quarter during the Week 15 game. Facing a fourth-and-1 on their own 35, New York went for the conversion, and Booker took the pitch wide for 31 yards. All by itself, it would end up being the Giants’ longest play from scrimmage.

With Kazee’s personal foul tacked on, Big Blue got a new set of downs at the Dallas 20. They would gain no more yardage- and, in fact, lost 10 on a penalty of their own- en route to a Graham Gano field goal that cut the Cowboys lead to 15-6.

 

When asked about the play the day after the 21-6 Cowboys win, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn admitted that his unit simply guessed wrong.

“Well, I wish we stopped them. I will say that,” Quinn told reporters Monday. “But it was a good play. We were playing for the quarterback sneak with inches [to go]. So we really overloaded the inside. And so for them to kick the ball outside, and they made a good block onto J.K. [Jayron Kearse], they pulled the guard out around onto [Trevon] Diggs, and so that’s where the explosive play hit. Sometimes you can be too bold inside, and they got a good check to go outside. Quite honestly, I tip my hat to them- to [Giants offensive coordinator Freddie] Kitchens and their staff- for coming up with a good design. Later on- not in the same series, but another one- they had the sneak called again, and we checked into a different look on it. That worked out better; it was a fourth down stop… Sometimes [there’s] a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game between the coaches: when you will and when you won’t. But I do have to give them credit. That was a good play.”

The play Kazee made, while an illegal tackle technique, likely saved a touchdown… and a Giants score that might have dramatically changed the complexion of the game. As it turned out, it ultimately cost the Cowboys just three points.

And, of course, another six thousand bucks for the five-year veteran.

Kazee was fined nearly the same amount for an unnecessary roughness call the last time the Cowboys played the Giants. Back in Week 5, he was flagged for a retaliatory shove after Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney threw a punch at Kazee during the 44-20 Dallas win.

[listicle id=688859]

[vertical-gallery id=688471]

[listicle id=688762]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Giants DBs hit hard by COVID as motivated Dak Prescott, Cowboys come to town

The Giants have several players- including three defensive backs- on the COVID list, just as Dallas looks to reignite their passing game. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The New York Giants are taking heavy losses a full 72 hours before their game with the Cowboys even kicks off.

Dallas will enter the Week 15 divisional matchup looking to not only get their offense back on track, but to also do their part in sewing up a postseason berth by notching a win over their longtime rivals. At this point, though, the Giants may need name tags on the fronts of their jerseys just to be able to identify all the new guys.

New York has added seven names to their Reserve/COVID list over the past two days. The secondary has been hit especially hard, just as a motivated Dak Prescott comes to town.

Cornerback Adoree Jackson was added to the watchlist on Thursday after testing positive for the virus. He joins rookie cornerback Aaron Robinson, linebackers Oshane Ximines and Cam Brown, wide receivers Kadarius Toney and John Ross, and offensive lineman Wes Martin, all of whom tested positive.

Safety Xavier McKinney, the Giants’ interception leader, is also on the list after being declared a close contact, of the high-risk variety as an unvaccinated player. It is possible, though, that he’ll test out of the protocols in time for Sunday’s early kickoff.

Jackson and Robinson are both unvaccinated and therefore ineligible to play under the current protocol rules.

According to Giants Wire, Keion Crossen and Julian Love will fill in against Dallas, and practice squadder Jarren Williams is likely to be elevated for the game.

The 9-4 Cowboys come in with their quarterback struggling in recent weeks. Prescott says he’s heard the recent speculation about his being in a slump.

“I do realize I’m not playing my best ball, haven’t been playing it, have made some poor decisions, you could say,” he told reporters Thursday. “I wouldn’t say it’s slump material, but I’m definitely not up to my standards or expectations, and when you play at a high level, that’s what you create. So I’m glad people have the same expectations for my game as I do for myself.”

He is looking at Sunday’s game as a chance to get back to his earlier elite form- not because of anything going on with the Giants per se, but simply because it’s his next opportunity to compete.

“We’ve got confidence in ourselves,” he added. “No disrespect to any opponent that we play. We have these expectations and standards for ourselves regardless of who we’re playing. Whether it’s a division game against the Giants- a team that we’re familiar with- or it be somebody else out of conference, this is the game that, yeah, we’ve got to get things rolling regardless: just because of the time of the season it is, what we’ve done, but more importantly, where we’re trying to go. It’s now.”

[listicle id=688203]

[listicle id=688048]

[listicle id=688117]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Cowboys’ injury report: Elliott practices in knee brace, Donovan Wilson returns, Pollard DNP after all

Tony Pollard did not practice after all, but Elliott maintains his knee feels the best it has in some time; Wilson could play Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Wednesday’s practice came and went at The Star in Frisco with only two players sitting things out. One was expected; the other was a late change to what everyone had been told.

Left tackle Tyron Smith was a non-participant; he’s already been declared out for Sunday’s divisional meeting with the Giants in New York as he nurses the ankle injury he reaggravated last week in the Cowboys’ win over Washington.

Running back Tony Pollard was set to be limited in the day’s work, according to what Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters just a few hours earlier. But he ended up not practicing at all, still apparently dealing with the torn plantar fascia he suffered on a long touchdown run against New Orleans on Dec. 2.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott was a full participant, as McCarthy had said he would be.

“Definitely the best I’ve felt in a while,” Elliott said afterward. He wore a knee brace during Sunday’s game at FedEx Field, the first time he’s done that since high school, he explained. It’s something he’ll continue to do moving forward.

“It just kind of holds me in place,” he added. “A lot of times when I’m kind of getting gimpy or banged up is when I kind of get rolled up, rolled on, or just land on my knee. I think the brace gives me more stability.”

Tight end Sean McKeon was also a full participant Wednesday after a neck issue held him out of Week 14.

In other roster news, the team designated safety Donovan Wilson for return, opening the 21-day evaluation period for the third-year hitter out of Texas A&M. A chest/shoulder injury against Kansas City forced him to miss the last three games; he worked his way back from a groin injury earlier this season.

Wilson could be back on the field as soon as Sunday versus the Giants.

The Cowboys also signed defensive tackle Justin Hamilton back to the practice squad and waived cornerback Deante Burton to make room. Hamilton has bounced from the club’s practice squad to active roster to released list several times since 2019.

[listicle id=688178]

[listicle id=688078]

[listicle id=688048]

[lawrence-newsletter]

McCarthy: Cowboys RB Tony Pollard to be limited but back at practice Wednesday

After missing just the second game of his career, Tony Pollard is working his way back and could be ready to face the porous Giants defense. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is expected to be back at practice on Wednesday after missing Week 14’s outing with a plantar fascia injury. That is not necessarily an indication that he will be available to play in Sunday’s divisional matchup versus the Giants, but it is certainly a step in the right direction for a Dallas run game- and offense- that’s been as flat as the Texas plains in recent weeks.

Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters at his midweek press conference that the third-year back out of Memphis would be “limited,” but was also quick to point out that the entire practice session would be lighter than usual in an attempt to keep players fresh as the season wears on.

“More of a walkthrough-type practice,” McCarthy explained Wednesday.

Pollard tore the ligament in his left foot on Dec. 2 on a 58-yard touchdown sprint against the Saints and was listed as a gametime decision last week, being scratched shortly before kickoff. That was fairly new territory for Pollard, who had previously been inactive just once on gameday, in December of his rookie season.

Ezekiel Elliott, who has been playing through a knee injury for over two months, ended up finishing Sunday’s win over Washington with 12 carries for 45 yards.

“I thought Zeke came out of the game good,” McCarthy said by way of an update on the two-time rushing champ. “His communication has been [that] he’s ready to go. If we were having a full-blown Wednesday practice, I would say he’d be in a full capacity.”

Backup Corey Clement also got some work out of the Cowboys backfield, logging 13 rushing attempts and gaining 44 yards. Even wideout CeeDee Lamb and practice squad call-up JaQuan Hardy were given carries as the team compiled 122 ground yards against Washington.

“It was definitely a big improvement from New Orleans, clearly. We had a good day against the Giants last time we played them, so obviously, that’ll be a bigger challenge this week. Obviously, that’s going to be a focal point for them. We’ve just got to stay the course.”

The Cowboys will look to exploit a Giants defense that’s giving up an average of 125 yards per game on the ground, eighth-worst in the league this season.

Dallas hung 201 rushing yards on their New York rivals back in a Week 5 win. In that game, Elliott amassed 110 on the ground and scored a touchdown. It was his second 100-yard outing of the season; it remains the last time he’s hit that mark. Pollard added another 75 yards that day on 14 carries.

Cowboys fans would love to see both get back on the horse and run roughshod over Big Blue this coming Sunday.

[listicle id=688178]

[listicle id=688048]

[listicle id=687939]

[lawrence-newsletter]