Even though the Dallas Cowboys' offense is the belle of the ball after its 35-point explosion against the New York Giants on Sunday, the defense also deserves credit for doing its part in a blowout victory.

The Giants' offense did put up 470 yards in total offense, but a lot of that came after the game was already out of hand. Nonetheless, the Cowboys' defense deserves credit for forcing the Giants to go 2 for 11 on third downs, limiting them to just 17 points and creating two turnovers.

The Giants' offense may not be regarded as highly as some others, but they do have some top-tier talent -- namely Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram. The latter is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses in the passing game, as he combines size (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) and 4.4 speed to run away from less-athletic linebackers and safeties, or box out smaller cornerbacks.

Luckily for the Cowboys, they have their own size-speed freak who matches up well with Engram in coverage -- Byron Jones.

On the Giants' first drive of the game, Engram appeared as though he was going to be a problem for the Cowboys, hauling in two catches -- the second of which went for a touchdown.

Nevertheless, the Cowboys employed a clever wrinkle to take Engram away in a high-leverage situation later in the game. The Giants' offense received the ball at the 25-yard line with 1:13 left in the first half after a touchdown put the Cowboys up 21-7. Because the Giants were getting the ball to start the second half, a score right before the half would have put them in striking distance of the Cowboys, providing hope for an overmatched team (which is always dangerous).

At the beginning of the drive, it appeared as though Engram was going to get loose against the Cowboys once again as he secured a first-down grab while the Giants quickly marched the ball past midfield.

But Kris Richard and Rod Marinelli had other things in mind, as they expertly went to their dime package (four defensive linemen, one linebacker, six defensive backs), which is similar to their nickel package (four defensive linemen, two linebackers, five defensive backs) except with Jones subbed in for Leighton Vander Esch.

With Jones on the field, the Cowboys had the perfect personnel to combat Engram and the rest of the Giants' weapons in the pass game. Marinelli and Richard opted to put Jones over Engram, and the tight end struggled to get open at the end of the half as a result (above clip).

Even a free release from a trips-bunch formation wasn't enough for Engram to get open against Jones at the end of the half (above clip).

Just like against New Orleans last year, this wrinkle was a great example of the flexibility in the defense's personnel to take away a team's greatest weapon in important situations, which is vital in today's NFL. Against New Orleans, it was a running back, as Jourdan Lewis limited Alvin Kamara on third downs, and against New York, it was a tight end, as Jones blanketed Engram at the end of the first half.

While the Cowboys' offense will get most of the attention this week, don't overlook the creativity of the defense.

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Twitter: @JohnOwning