It was not a lack of preparation and it was not all the handiwork of his offensive line. Eli Manning was sacked six times in Sunday night’s 20-13 loss to the Cowboys and insists everyone had a hand in the protection breakdowns.
“Combination of stuff,’’ Manning said Monday. “There was nothing that we didn’t have an answer for. Enough things might mess up a little bit, it’s a combination of everybody, it’s not just the offensive line. When sacks are happening obviously the offensive line gets blamed most of the time but that’s not necessarily the case. You got running backs, you got quarterbacks, you got receivers, everybody plays a part in that.’’
It takes a village to screw things up. Fullback Shane Smith twice failed to pick up his blitz assignment in one bad second-quarter series and tight end Rhett Ellison was called for a holding penalty in the third quarter with the Giants on the Dallas 3-yard line.
The deficiencies of the offensive linemen were also too numerous. The Cowboys used basic movement along their defensive line to confound the Giants.
“I think our guys were prepared,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “We were well aware of the fact they have been a defensive front that moves quite a bit. They have done it for years, that’s their style. We were aware of it and some of the pressures we practiced. I think we had a hat for them in most occasions, one time we had it picked up and we just didn’t slide through it…. We’ve just got to do a better job, I don’t think we faced anything we hadn’t seen. We’ve just got to be cleaner with our blocks. They got on our edges a little bit too much.’’
Shurmur did not update the status of CB Eli Apple, who was forced out with a groin injury that will likely keep him out of Sunday’s game in Houston. B.W. Webb replaced Apple and will likely have to move into the starting lineup, with Donte Deayon moving into the nickel back spot.
The six sacks were the most Manning was dropped since Oct. 12, 2014, when he was also sacked six times, by the Eagles. Manning’s 33 completions tied for the sixth-most in his 15-year career. No one would have ever suspected his longest completion (37 yards) of the night would go to Cody Latimer, a newcomer from the Broncos. Latimer became the third player to catch a pass from both Eli and Peyton Manning The others are Jim Finn and Brandon Stokley.