The Dallas Cowboys’ season got off to a rough start last Sunday night as the New York Giants beat the Cowboys 28-20 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. A defense that couldn’t get off of the field and an offense that couldn’t generate big plays doomed Dallas in Week 1. Cowboys host the Washington Commanders on Sunday in their home opener.
.@calebdowns brought Dart down 😤
📺: #DALvsNYG on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx7C1d pic.twitter.com/oNBcWJxHHt— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 14, 2026
The Giants controlled this game from the opening kick. New York had 29 first downs compared to Dallas’ 21, outgained the Cowboys 394-244, and were 9-11 on third down. Biggest story coming into Dallas’ season was a completely revamped defense under new coordinator Christian Parker. One game in, and the jury is definitely still out. The Giants didn’t hit as many explosive plays as they did against the Cowboys in a crazy Week 2 affair last season, but New York was able to consistently run the ball and control the clock. Been a while since I’ve seen a game in which both teams only had 7 drives each. That’s because New York had touchdown drives of 83 yards in 6:13, 74 yards in 8:01, and 85 yards in 6:11. I figured that a rebuilt secondary might show some growing pains, but to see the Cowboys give up so much on the ground was disheartening, considering Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark are on the interior of the DL. QB Jaxson Dart was terrific, going 23-29 for 230 yards and 3 TD’s. TE Isaiah Likely was a thorn in the Cowboys’ side, as he caught 8 passes for 78 yards and 2 TD’s. RB Cam Skattebo was productive, running 18 times for 81 yards and a score. Cowboys looked like they had some confusion in their zone coverages at times, as the Giants hit pass after pass in the flat and were able to methodically move down the field more often than not. It was a different type of poor defensive performance from a season ago; New York only had one play of more than 20 yards, a Dart run, but they consistently got whatever they wanted, and they often paid the drives off with TD’s. Giants are on the right track. They’re absolutely a playoff contender right now.
.@QuinnenWilliams punches it out and @ShavonRevel snags it 💥
📺: #DALvsNYG on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx7C1d pic.twitter.com/GTFOwoSDGS— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 14, 2026
If the Cowboys are going to be, not only do they need to figure things out defensively, but the offense needs to start hitting the big plays that CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are capable of hitting. Dallas’ offense looked like a group that didn’t play in the preseason, because the explosiveness of that unit was missing in Week 1. Dak Prescott only threw for 175 yards and he had a costly interception right before the half that set up New York’s shortest TD drive of the game. The Giants got the ball to start the third quarter, and promptly went on a TD march to take a 21-7 lead and full control of the game. The Cowboys’ offense should come around. Despite missing their best offensive lineman in Tyler Smith, the OL allowed no sacks and only 1 TFL against a very good pass rushing unit. The chunk plays were not there in Week 1 and that needs to change if this offense is going to reach it’s full potential. Dallas should be able to run the ball decently as they did a season ago, but the big gainers by Lamb and Pickens are going to be necessary for this bunch to score points consistently.
.@_CeeDeeThree with the TD 🙌
📺: #DALvsNYG on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx7C1d pic.twitter.com/zDWpq7wPFc— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 14, 2026
Cowboys come home for another NFC East game this Sunday against the Commanders at 3:25 on FOX. Washington is 0-1 after losing a close game to Philadelphia a week ago. QB Jayden Daniels returns to the lineup after an injury plagued season in 2025. Daniels had a terrific rookie season in 2024, leading Washington to the NFC Championship Game. Last week, the Eagles held Terry McLaurin to only 2 catches for 14 yards, so expect Washington to try to get the ball to him often. The Commanders allowed the Eagles to run the ball for 136 yards and more than 5 yards a carry a week ago, but Washington racked up 3 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, so Dan Quinn’s defense is capable of causing some havoc. The Commanders already have a lot of defensive players on the injury report, most listed as questionable, but the list includes LB’s Frankie Luvu and Odafe Oweh, DT Daron Payne, and DE Dorance Armstrong. Can’t call a game in Week 2 a must win, but with the Ravens, Texans, Packers, and Eagles all on the schedule over the next five weeks, Dallas can’t afford to lose this one and go 0-2 in the division.
Dallas 27 Washington 24
What went wrong Sunday for Dallas?
As the Cowboys get ready for their 2nd divisional game in as many weeks, the answer was poor communication.
I let the locker room explain, explore why preseason play would have helped starters this year vs years past and an update on RB Malik… pic.twitter.com/eQx1XHNSeU
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) September 17, 2026
Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
Join HC Brian Schottenheimer from the @thestarinfrisco for a press conference presented by H-E-B
📺: #WASvsDAL 9/20 on FOX#DallasCowboys | @HEB https://t.co/mS47ztfEt2
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 16, 2026
