On the New York Giants’ third play of Sunday’s game with the Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence crashed the Giants’ offensive line and blasted Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

And, with that, something changed in this Cowboys defense.

Dallas found a pass rush against a Giants team that bedeviled them twice last year. They created a turnover against a quarterback that in the past has seemed to have a window to their defensive soul. The Cowboys stymied the run. Jaylon Smith started and played well. Sean Lee was his usual beastly self. The Giants has, basically, one good drive. It started in the third quarter. It lasted nearly 10 minutes. It led to a field goal. And, yes, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t play, and that might have made a difference. But that’s football. The Giants won’t get to test that theory for a while.

Check out the rest of my article on the Cowboys’ victory over the New York Giants at CowboysHQ.com, which features some of the best Cowboys coverage around. Check out the link below.

Thanks @fishsports my thought was “What if Sunday’s game was a sea change for #Cowboys defense? We’ll see. Give it a read #CowboysNation https://t.co/xNo3CG9bLR

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) September 11, 2017