Giants vs. Cowboys Full Team Grades

Special Teams: B

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris (17) is tackled by Dallas Cowboys defensive back Corey White (23) int he fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Depending on what facet of special teams you are looking at, it was either extremely good for the Giants or poor. Let’s take a look at the good first.

Josh Brown knocked through all four of his field goal attempts, as the veteran continues to be a steady performer. He made kicks from 50, 40, 30 and 19 yards as the length of the field goals decreased every attempt. He also knocked through both his extra point attempts despite it being from 33 yards instead of the 18 he was used to the remainder of his career.

Also encouraging was there was no transfer problems between Zak DeOssie and Brad Wing. Wing, who is replacing the popular Steve Weatherford at punter, is also the new holder. He had an uneventful Week 1, which is what you want from your holder as it means there was no problems.

Wing, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a late round draft pick, was also strong in the punting game. He had a long of 63 yards, and placed three of his four punts inside the 20; can’t ask for much more than that. On the evening he averaged 44.8 yards per punt. The Giants coverage team were sold as well, as they allowed -3 yards on punt returns and only 19.2 yards per return on five kickoff returns.

Now, for the bad. Dwayne Harris went backwards more than forwards on his punt returns, averaging only 1.5 yards per return on his two chances. The Giants didn’t have a chance to return any kickoffs, as Cowboys’ kicker Dan Bailey booted all six of his kickoffs for touchbacks.

The biggest error may have come off the foot of Brown though. With the Giants nursing a six-point lead with under two minutes remaining, Brown went with a squib kick. It resulted in the Cowboys taking over at the 28-yard line and we all know how that turned out. While he may have been attempting to run the clock down, putting the Cowboys as far away from the end zone should be the gameplan and kicking it as deep as possible should have been the play.

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