ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys rolled out of bed looking groggy for their Week 2 home opener against the New York Giants. They trail 13-10 at the half with the Giants outgaining the home team by over 100 yards, 251-145. New York kept Dallas in the game with its sloppiness: they committed nine penalties for 80 yards lost.
The Giants outgained the Cowboys by 158 total yards (170-12) in the first quarter, but they ended up settling for a couple field goals. With Giants starting left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot) out for the second straight game, New York began the game with five-year veteran James Hudson in his place. However, Hudson committed a whopping four penalties (two unnecessary roughness infractions and two false starts) on the opening drive. The second unnecessary roughness penalty lost the Giants an opportunity to have first-and-goal from the Cowboys’ 2-yard line after a 50-yard completion from Russell Wilson to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
Dallas found a little life in the second quarter when Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb erupted on his first target of the day for a 34-yard gain on what appeared to be an over route with Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo in coverage with 11:46 left in the half. Quarterback Dak Prescott put the football right in No. 88’s hands, and he made sure to hold on to the ball after a career-high four drops in Week 1. That drive ended with a 51-yard field goal by All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey after the Giants’ ferocious defensive line overwhelmed Dallas’ offensive line to sack Prescott on third-and-long.
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers took advantage of a less-than-100% Trevon Diggs shadowing him in coverage for New York’s first touchdown of the game. He blew by Diggs to highpoint a trademark “moonball” from Wilson for a 29-yard touchdown that put the Giants up, 13-3, with 5:37 left in the half. He finished the half with 86 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Dallas will need to go back to their zone heavy gam eplan from Week 1 in the second half given Diggs’ health and cornerback DaRon Bland being out with a foot injury. Prescott clapped back with a third-down, 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver KaVontae Turpin on a slant route with just over two minutes left to play to trim the New York lead to three, 13-10.
Will the Cowboys be able to claw their way back after starting with the football to begin the second half? Or will the Giants be able to shock the world and pull away for an upset victory on the road? Stay tuned to the live blog below to find out.