It’s not how, but rather how many. The Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 after a wild 40-37 overtime win over the New York Giants on Sunday inside AT&T Stadium. Dallas continues their mastery of New York with their 16th win in their last 17 outings against the Giants. The Cowboys visit the Bears next Sunday.
Crazy game. Giants first drive took 16 plays and 8:49 off the clock, as New York shot themselves in the foot continuously with penalties. After the Giants settled for a FG, the Cowboys went 3 and out. New York added another FG, and with 1:05 left in the first quarter, the Giants had 6 points, while the Cowboys had 3 offensive plays.
After New York took a 13-3 lead, Dallas went 64 yards in 8 plays, Dak Prescott found KaVonte Turpin for a 10 yard TD, and the Giants led 13-10 at the half. The Cowboys first drive of the third quarter resulted in a Prescott interception, but after the Cowboys forced a turnover on downs, Dallas went 90 yards in 6 plays and took a 17-13 lead on a 30 yard TD run by Javonte Williams.
From that point on, every drive in regulation ended in points. The teams traded FG’s. They traded TD’s. They traded TD’s again, with the Giants taking a 30-27 lead on a Wan’Dale Robinson 32 yard reception, only for the Cowboys to go 71 yards in 1:52, capped by a George Pickens 6 yard TD catch to put Dallas up 34-30.
The madness was just getting warmed up. New York answered with a Malik Nabers 48 yard TD, putting the Giants up 37-34 with :25 left. However, when Brandon Aubrey is your kicker, FG range is seemingly anywhere in the stadium, and Aubrey hit a 64 yarder to send the game into OT.
Funny thing happened in overtime…the offenses sputtered, almost like a couple of cars that ran out of gas right at the finish line. Cowboys punt, Giants punt, Cowboys punt, and then on the second play of the next drive, Russell Wilson threw an ill advised pass, and Cowboys S Donovan Wilson was waiting for it, similar to a CF waiting on a fly ball to come down. The pick gave Dallas a third possession in OT, and after a 27 yard reception by Pickens and a 14 yard run by Prescott, Aubrey hit a 46 yarder to give the Cowboys a maniacal 40-37 win.
The win is what matters, but good grief the Cowboys were horrible on defense. After keeping the Eagles’ passing game in check in the season opener, Wilson looked like he did in Seattle ten years ago. The Giants WR’s ran right through Dallas’ zone looks and Wilson kept throwing deep…not very complicated. I know the defense is getting used to a new system, Trevon Diggs is working back from an injury, and DaRon Bland was out, but the Cowboys better get their pass coverage figured out, or it’s going to be a long season. It might’ve been fun to have a dominant, menacing, Hall of Fame level pass rusher to prevent the long pass plays from developing every now and then. Wonder where the Cowboys could get one of those guys.
Offensively, not much to be unhappy about. Prescott forced a pick and was fortunate to not throw more, but coming off of his hamstring injury, it was great to see him run on the final offensive play of the game, setting up the game winning FG. Williams and Miles Sanders aren’t elite RB’s, but they’re both capable of making plays. CeeDee Lamb, Pickens, and Jake Ferguson are a very good trio of targets and perhaps the biggest play of the game was the 18 yard completion to Ferguson that gave Aubrey a chance at the game tying FG. Prescott threw the ball before Ferguson turned around, so it appears those two have good chemistry. Keep an eye on the injury to C Cooper Beebe. He could miss a couple of months with a broken bone in his foot.
Up next, the Cowboys visit Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday at 3:25 on FOX. I miss the way Soldier Field used to look, before someone landed a spaceship in the middle of it. Look it up kids. Bears are 0-2 after a loss to the Vikings and a blowout loss to the Lions. Chicago allowed 27 to Minnesota and 52 to Detroit, so if the Cowboys don’t score, it’ll be concerning. I’d be stunned if Ben Johnson didn’t have Caleb Williams do exactly what Russell Wilson did: throw deep often. Until Dallas stops it, that would be my gameplan. This is a game that I thought the Cowboys would win before the season. However, Dallas’ defense has me spooked and Chicago has to be desperate to avoid an 0-3 start.
Bears 31 Cowboys 27
Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
