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Penalties play big role

Coming into the game, the Cowboys were tied for the second-most accepted penalties is the NFL this season with 124. That number rose to 133 on Sunday after Dallas was penalized nine times for 94 total yards, including rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku being disqualified in the third quarter for removing an opponents' helmet.

Defensive penalties led to a few Giants scores that would hurt the Cowboys, with one example coming in the second quarter, when Dallas' defense was poised to bring up a fourth down punt after Tyrone Tracy was pushed out of bounds after a five-yard gain on third and 21. Linebacker Kenneth Murray shoved Tracy after the whistle, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to keep New York's drive alive. A few plays later, the Giants would cap off an 11 play, 96 yard drive with a touchdown from Jaxson Dart to TE Daniel Bellinger, giving New York a 16-10 lead.

In the fourth quarter with the Cowboys trailing by just seven, the Giants were called for back-to-back penalties on a false start and offensive pass interference, setting themselves up with third and 19. On that play, CB Caelen Carson was penalized for pass interference, and the Giants would go on to connect on a field goal that gave them a 10 point lead.

Penalties weren't the only factor in Dallas' loss, but extended some crucial drives for the Giants and were an issue overall in 2025.

Schotty on Matt Eberflus

On Sunday, the Cowboys allowed 30 or more points to an opponent for the ninth time in the 2025 season. The team allowed more than 500 yards to an opponents in a single season for the first time in franchise history.

After the game, head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about what the case would be for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to return for a second season in 2026.

"The case is going to be the case that's made when we look at all the stats, we talk through the issues, we get through the exit interviews with the players," Schottenheimer said. "I've said this many, many times, Flus is a good defensive coach, and we're going to go through the process. That's with everybody, starting with myself."

Extended looks for younger players

From Joe Milton entering in the second half to two rookie running backs exchanging most of the carries out of the backfield the Cowboys got extended looks at some of their younger talent.

Milton finished his outing with 73 yards on 7/13 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. On the ground, Milton added four carries for 43 yards. Dallas' rookie RB duo of Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah did a majority of the work in the ground game, with both cashing in on their first career NFL rushing touchdowns. They became the fifth rookie duo to score rushing touchdowns in the same game in franchise history, and combined for 82 yards on 21 carries.

Dak's season in review

Dak Prescott's 10th season with the Cowboys was one of his best. For the second time in the last three years, he started in all 17 games, something he was grateful for after missing the back half of the 2024 season with a hamstring injury.

Prescott finished the year with 4,552 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions after playing in the first half of Sunday's Week 18 game before being relieved by Joe Milton.

Now, Prescott gets to enter the offseason before Year 11 healthy, and said postgame he would only take a week off before refocusing on the task at hand in a crucial 2026 campaign.

Turpin headlines special teams

Special teams has been an up and down experience for the Cowboys over the course of the season, but KaVontae Turpin had one of his better days bringing back kickoffs against the Giants.

The highlight was an 84-yard kickoff return in the first quarter to set the Cowboys up at the Giants 11-yard line. A few plays later, Jaydon Blue scored from 14 yards out to give Dallas their first lead of the game.

Turpin picked up 215 total kickoff return yards on seven returns, good for an average of 30.7 yards per return.

Situational football

Situational football has been a point of emphasis for Brian Schottenheimer all season, and will likely be high on his "laundry list" of items to attend to in the offseason.

Third downs and the red zone on offense are two areas especially that the team wanted to see improvement in, but couldn't find on Sunday against the Giants. The Cowboys went just two of eight on third down, and two of four in the red zone.

A week after dominating the time of possession battle, which was another area of the game Schottenheimer was looking to win, the Giants held possession for 33:07 of the game compared to 26:53 for Dallas.