New York Giants

Giants at Cowboys Recap, Highlights, Final Score, More

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New York Giants were able to squeak out a 20-19 win against their NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys in their Week 1 matchup

Well it wasn’t exactly pretty, but the New York Giants were able to outlast the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday en route to a one-point victory. It was the first time the G-Men were able to defeat Dallas on opening day as the Cowboys were 7-0 all-time against New York in Week 1.

Dallas was able to control the time of possession as they held onto the ball for 36 minutes. This feat was impressive considering they were forced to start rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott at quarterback as veteran Tony Romo is out with a broken bone in his back.

However, they were unable to cap their long drives off with touchdowns, which ultimately was their undoing. In 2015 Dallas struggled to score touchdowns as well, and spending their fourth-overall pick on running back Ezekiel Elliott was supposed to solve that issue.

Opposite Elliott and Prescott was a revamped Giants defense. The defensive line wasn’t able to sack Prescott on the night, but they were impressive against Elliott and the ‘Boys running game.

The high profile rookie did record one touchdown, but on the night he had just 51 yards on 21 carries for a putrid 2.5 yard per carry average. The Giants did struggle more with veteran Alfred Morris, who managed 35 yards on seven carries. For some reason though, Dallas never stuck with the hot hand as they continued to force feed the rookie.

New York also worked to change their secondary by signing former Rams corner Janoris Jenkins and drafting cornerback Eli Apple in round one and safety Darian Thompson in round three. All three played well as the Giants overhauled unit held stud wide out Dez Bryant to just one catch for eight yards.

In between the two defenders, New York also drafted receiver Sterling Shepard. The Oklahoma product shined as he pulled in three receptions for 43 yards and caught one of three touchdowns thrown by Eli Manning.

After Shepard’s score, things kept going back and forth between the two teams and Dallas looked like they may have had things in hand. New York came out in the third quarter and looked out of sorts. Manning threw an early pick and their 13-9 halftime lead fell to a 19-13 deficit late in the fourth.

With just over six minutes to play, Eli was able to deliver as he hit receiver Victor Cruz from three-yards out on a third-and-goal for the go ahead score. It was a huge moment for Giants fans as Cruz hasn’t played a game since October of 2014 thanks to severe knee issues.

Last season the Giants fell apart down the stretch and gave the game away. In 2016, they were in danger of doing the same thing as Dallas was able to get the ball back with about one minute to play.

Fortunately for the Giants they forced Dallas to call all their time outs on their final possession and time ran out on Dallas. They had moved the ball to the Giants 40, which would have given them a shot to try a desperation field goal.

Prescott hit receiver Terrance Williams on the sidelines and rather than go out of bounds, Williams fought for more yards.

Dallas tried to line up to spike the ball, but the clock ticked down to zero as Dallas has now lost 12 of their last 13 games without Tony Romo. The Giants were able to get their first win with new head coach Ben McAdoo in their post-Tom Coughlin era.

Sep 11, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) runs off the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. New York won 20-19. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

What This Means for New York

Some will want to throw some cold water on the Giants and say the beat a team starting a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back. That wouldn’t be fair though because they played a solid game.

Dallas had an excellent game plan which revolved around short passes and running the ball. They kept Eli Manning and company on the sidelines for as long as possible. At times, it led to New York looking rusty.

However, New York stood tall and didn’t let the power running game get going . Elliott was held to 2.5 yards per carry and although Prescott was never sacked, he did have to make some throws on the run thanks to pressure, which led to some ugly incompletions.

Speaking of ugly, the third-quarter interception by Manning was simply ugly. Also ugly was kicker Randy Bullocks missed extra point early in the game. The Giants were lucky that neither of those slip-ups cost them in the long run.

Manning wasn’t spectacular, but he made the plays he needed to. When they got in the red zone, he delivered with three touchdown passes. As always, he can be up and down, but pressure doesn’t phase him and he can throw touchdowns in bunches.

Another positive for them was their running game. It wasn’t dominant, but Rashad Jennings 75 yards on 18 carries eclipsed the production of the high pick in Dallas. Shane Vereen also was stellar with 38 yards on six carries. He also added 23 yards on three receptions.

The Giants are looking good in a conference that’s up for grabs. They make their home debut against the New Orleans Saints, who may be the only team with a defense worse than the one they just faced.

Sep 11, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) rolls out to throw a pass in the third quarter against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. New York won 20-19. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

What This Means for Dallas

Dallas fans are crazy. We all know it. They think every win means they’re Super Bowl bound and every loss means anyone associated with them should be fired.

Unfortunately for head coach Jason Garrett and company, Sunday just added more fuel to the fire. This team looks simply lost without Tony Romo. That’s a terrible sign considering he’s 36-years old and can’t stay healthy.

Garrett was called out by his owner last year for not coaching the team up to get wins without Romo. Once again, they fell in the “L” column with a backup.

Yet fans shouldn’t be too upset. Divisional games could go either way and Prescott gave them some reason for hope. He started out looking like he was ready to be an All-Pro as he connected on 9-of-10 passes. His one incompletion was a pass that went off receiver Cole Beasley’s hands. It also could have been a walk-in touchdown if Beasley hauled it in.

After his hot start though, Dak really cooled off. The running game never got going and they were forced to throw more than they wanted. Thanks to this, the rookie was exposed some. His passes were off several times in the second half, and he never pushed the ball down field.

Prescott finished 25-of-45 for 227 yards. He had no turnovers, but also had no touchdowns and managed just five yards per pass attempt.

It was a good sign for Dallas to finally see some youth on the field, but Dak isn’t ready for the Hall of Fame just yet. He may be the heir to Romo, but there will surely be growing pains.

In the end, Dallas proved that once again they simply don’t have the defensive players to win enough games. Their defensive line created almost no pressure all game and their corners leave far too many receivers open.

The linebacking corps isn’t special and really only Sean Lee stands out as a player that could start elsewhere.

This could be another long season for Dallas fans.

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