Highlights from Sunday Night Football’s NFC East matchup between the Cowboys and Giants
It is not unusual for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants to begin their respective seasons on “Sunday Night Football” during prime time. On those circumstances, neither the Cowboys nor the Giants are being mistreated. Dallas marched into the MetLife Stadium and let New York to continually beat themselves on route to a 40-0 triumph. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, the audience had dispersed due to the rain and the home team’s poor play. Chants of “Let’s Go Cowboys!” could be heard around the stadium.
Since 2007, this was the eighth time the two teams have faced off in Week 1 on “Sunday Night Football.” Dallas has triumphed in four of those cases thus far. The Cowboys have won all but one of the 12 games between the two clubs to open a season. Dallas has defeated New York in five straight games and 12 of the previous 13 meetings between the two NFC East rivals. The Cowboys were glad that the Giants were unable to overcome their own obstacles on Sunday.
Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ quarterback, has thrown 23 touchdown passes against the Giants, more than any other team in the league, and he didn’t need to add to that number in the rout. That was made possible by special teams and defence contributions and scores, as well as two short-yardage touchdowns by running back Tony Pollard (14 runs, 70 yards). In the fourth quarter, Kavontae Turpin added a running score to complete the 40-point demolition.
For 143 yards on 13 of his 24 attempts, Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb for 49 of them in the first quarter, setting up a field goal.
On the Giants’ opening drive of the contest, Jones and running back Saquon Barkley advanced the ball with their legs. Jones landed on the ball to retrieve it after rookie centre John Michael Schmitz mishandled the snap inside the red zone. Juanyeh Thomas broke past the line of scrimmage to stop Graham Gano’s 45-yard field goal attempt. Noah Igbinoghene, a free agent addition, grabbed the errant pass and returned it 58 yards for the Cowboys’ first touchdown of 2023.
Two drives later, Trevon Diggs hit Saquon Barkley as he was receiving a short throw to cause his first turnover of the game. Daron Bland, a cornerback, received the ball and waltzed into the end zone to make it 16-0. Later, on the Giants’ longest play from scrimmage—a Isaiah Hodgins reception—Diggs caused a fumble, but Dallas recovered the ball. The Cowboys pass rush overwhelmed the Giants offensive line and kept Jones on the move the entire game, so New York was never able to recover. He completed 15 of 28 passes for 134 yards (32.4 rating), and 43 running yards on 13 tries. Jones was sacked seven times by the Cowboys, with two apiece coming from Osa Odighizuwa and one from Dorance Armstrong.
The Giants have been outscored 71-7 in their previous two games dating back to their divisional round playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022. Since September 8, 1996, the Cowboys hadn’t shut them out.
Highlights of Cowboys-Giants
The Cowboys’ 35-0 victory in 1995, also in a season-opener in the Meadowlands, was the greatest victory between the clubs; the Giants’ 40-0 shutout loss surpassed it. In addition, it surpassed the Cowboys’ 38-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts in 1978 as the largest shutout win in any game.
Giants 0–Cowboys 40: KaVontae Turpin gives the Cowboys a 40-burger
Early in the fourth, backup running back KaVontae Turpin scored from seven yards out, and the extra point made it 40-0. Isaiah Hodgins took a slant for 24 yards in one of the Giants’ most explosive plays of the whole contest. By punching the ball out, Trevon Diggs forced his second error of the contest, which Israel Mukaumu recovered.
On the following drive, Prescott was replaced by Cooper Rush as quarterback. Christopher Bumbaca
