Calm, cool Brandon Aubrey steers Dallas through turbulent win

Looking for drama on the Cowboys’ sideline as the offense — taking over at its 33-yard line and trailing the Giants by 3 points with just 19 seconds remaining in regulation — needed to get into field goal range to send the game to overtime?

Don’t bother looking toward the kicking net or the All-Pro kicker, Brandon Aubrey. You won’t find any drama with “Butter,” who is so smooth you would never know he was about to be called upon to nail a 64-yarder.

Honestly, I’m not sure his heart rate was elevated. In years past, you might see kickers rushing to the kicking net to get in as many practice kicks as possible. It could get kind of frantic on the sideline. But Aubrey? Totally placid.

Sure, maybe a couple of practice kicks, but he’s saving his leg. Most of the time Aubrey is standing between the net and the field, awaiting his turn. Sometimes he might be on one knee, engaged in his own thoughts. But it’s easy to see that he is locked in mentally as he goes through visualization techniques and breathing exercises. Postgame he admitted that, in those quiet moments by himself on the sideline, “I’m reminding myself that I’m made for this moment and that I believe I’m the best kicker in the league. There’s no better spot to be in than this opportunity, so go have fun.”

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Meanwhile, long snapper Trent Sieg and holder Bryan Anger are practicing several snap-and-holds so they will be ready when called upon. They have the same routine whether it’s a short field goal in the first quarter, or a potential long-distance game-winner.

My point is, if you hang out on the sideline with the specialists, you wouldn’t know if the team was leading by 30 points or trailing by 30 points. They are the Steady Eddies of the team, so if you need a 64-yarder, they make it look easy. Heck, there were several yards to spare … the kick might have been good from 70.

After the successful kick from long distance to tie the score, 37-37, it’s overtime and the trio had to wait through three offensive possessions for the chance to kick a 46-yard game-winner.

Never a doubt, right? The Cowboys escaped an upset bid by the Giants by winning, 40-37.

Total time of game action before Aubrey’s winner on Sunday at AT&T Stadium: 69 minutes and 56 seconds. All those “chunk” plays … all those penalties (26) … and both offenses combining for 984 total net yards … and the game ultimately came down to two plays, each of which must be executed in less than 1.30 seconds each. Heck, if they are extra efficient, 1.28 seconds. That’s the length of time it takes the specialists to complete a snap-hold-kick. Games in the NFL are decided not by seconds, but by one-hundredths of a second.

That’s right, it takes longer to type the numbers 1.3 than it does for Sieg, Anger and Aubrey to execute the perfect snap-hold-kick. If it’s more than 1.3 seconds, an opponent could fly in from the edge and possibly block the kick. And, of course, the other eight Cowboys special teams players who are blocking must do their jobs to keep the Giants from rushing off the edge or getting a strong push up the middle. It takes a group effort, of course, and Aubrey is the first to tell you it took 11 men working as one to send it to overtime and ultimately win the game.

The only time on Sunday I saw Aubrey appear anything other than calm was his reaction to the fans chanting his name. A smile and wave. Plus, a brief smile in the postgame locker room when I asked if he might have a special celebration later in the evening to commemorate the win. He replied, “Oh, maybe a beer with the guys.”

Have two, Brandon. Or go anywhere in town and I bet there will be fans who are eager to buy you a round (or two or three).

Here are more notes from the sideline:

Beebe’s ankle injury: Cooper Beebe left the game late in the fourth quarter with a high-ankle sprain that may sideline him several weeks. Brock Hoffman replaced Beebe during the final offensive series of regulation, plus all three series in overtime. Coach Brian Schottenheimer will update the severity of Beebe’s injury during Monday afternoon’s news conference, but Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) that the initial timetable for Beebe is 6-to-8 weeks and there is a possibility he lands on injured reserve.

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Dallas Cowboys place kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) gets a kiss from quarterback Dak Prescott... View Gallery

Turpin neck injury: KaVontae Turpin spent several minutes with Dr. Dan Cooper and head athletic trainer Jim Maurer in the blue medical tent on the sideline Sunday before walking under his own power to the X-ray room for further evaluation. He left the game with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter following a kickoff return. Miles Sanders took his spot for the remainder of the game on kickoff returns and Jalen Tolbert took over punt return duties. Backup WR Ryan Flournoy got extra reps on offense with Turpin sidelined.

Cornerback rotation: With Daron Bland (foot) sidelined Sunday, the Cowboys’ depth at cornerback included two players added via the waiver wire in late August. Reddy Steward, claimed off waivers Aug. 27 from the Vikings, took Bland’s spot as the nickel corner. Steward played in the slot when the Cowboys went with three cornerbacks.

Trikweze Bridges, claimed off waivers from the Chargers on Aug. 27, was the backup to Trevon Diggs. Diggs, who played only 27 snaps in the season opener at Philadelphia, got a much heavier workload in Week 2. But it wasn’t reasonable to expect him to play the full load of snaps. Bridges entered the game early in the second quarter to give Diggs a break. He also filled in at the start of a couple of other defensive series, but Diggs would re-enter the game if those drives reached certain situations such as red zone or third and long. By spelling Diggs with Bridges throughout the game, Diggs was able to be on the field for key situations late in the game as well as overtime.

Game captain: For the first time this season, Schottenheimer named an extra game captain to serve as team leader in addition to the season-long captains (Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Osa Odighizuwa, Donovan Wilson, Aubrey, C.J. Goodwin). Safety Malik Hooker earned the honor for the home opener.

Running out of flags: There were so many penalty flags thrown in Sunday’s game that the officiating crew was running out of laundry. Literally. On the play in the second quarter in which there were four infractions on the Dak-to-CeeDee Lamb pass into the end zone, the back judge had to toss his hat onto the field because he had already thrown his yellow flag. The hat was for the penalty on CeeDee for unsportsmanlike conduct. The yellow flag was for cornerback Deonte Banks, who committed pass interference on Lamb. The two other flags, thrown by other officials, were against the defense for too many men on the field as well as roughing the passer. Four penalties — three on the Giants and one on the Cowboys — were offsetting, so it’s like the play never happened. The four penalties are not officially included in the total of 26 penalties enforced during the game.

Hidden yardage: This may seem weird, but I kept thinking about Bill Parcells during this game. Not just because Parcells served as head coach for each of these teams during his Hall of Fame career, but because Parcells liked to harp on “hidden yards.” His rule of thumb was 100 hidden yards equals 6 points.

What are hidden yards? They are yards that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but affect the game greatly, mainly in terms of field position.

Some hidden yards are obvious, such as penalty yards. For example, the Giants committed a holding penalty on the game’s opening kickoff. Their kickoff returner, Gunner Olzewski, returned the kick 67 yards to the Cowboys’ 32-yard line. But a 10-yard holding penalty, which occurred back at the Giants’ 30-yard line, meant the ball would be spotted at the Cowboys’ 20-yard line. Instead of having the ball at the Cowboys’ 32-yard line, the Giants began their first offensive series at their own 20. On the official stat sheet, it’s a 10-yard penalty. But in “hidden yards’, it is really 48 yards in lost field position.

Geez, 48 hidden yards on the opening kickoff? By Parcells’ thinking, the Giants already cost themselves 3 points.

As their first offensive series progressed, starting left tackle James Hudson committed four penalties, including two for unnecessary roughness. Those four penalties totaled 40 yards. WR Darius Slayton committed a holding penalty. That’s 10 yards for holding, right? Not really, it negated a 24-yard run. The offense docked itself 50 yards in penalty yards alone … another 3 points in Parcells’ book … but really more in hidden yards.

How does Giants’ QB Russell Wilson compile 95 passing yards in an opening series that covered only 60 yards and resulted in a field goal? By moving backwards due to self-inflicted wounds.

Hey, the Cowboys had their fair share of penalties and lost “hidden yards,” as well. Their total of 12 penalties for 106 yards at first blush would equate to 7 points. But it was much more than that. For example, penalties on special teams proved costly in terms of field position. On the kickoff return late in the third quarter in which Turpin was injured, Markquese Bell was called for holding. Instead of having the ball at their own 35-yard line, the drive started back at the 18-yard line (17 hidden yards).

Bell was also flagged in the fourth quarter for illegal formation during kickoff coverage. The penalty meant the Giants started their offensive series at the 40-yard line, excellent field position that they exploited en route to a Cam Skattebo 1-yard touchdown run. A pass interference penalty on Donovan Wilson also gave the Giants an extra 21 yards in that series.

During this back-and-forth, herky-jerky game in which each team kept shooting itself in the foot with mistakes and/or penalties (not to mention giving up “catalytic” plays – another of Parcells’ favorite terms), I kept thinking of The Big Tuna. I’m sure he was watching this game from Saratoga and shaking his head in disgust. For such an exciting, memorable game, it was hard to watch at times.

The final words came from Cowboys Radio colleague Brad Sham, play-by-play man extraordinaire, who described the game thusly: “This game has been a taffy pull, nothing smooth about it.” Amen, Brad. Except for Brandon Aubrey. He was smooth as ‘Butter.’

Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. She writes this column for The Dallas Morning News after each Cowboys game.

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