Ride 'Em Cowboys Top 10: Dallas Dominant in Record Blowout of Giants
Brandon Aubrey duck-hooked an extra point. Tony Pollard coughed up a fumble. And those rain-soaked rubber pellets sticking to players' faces looked like giant freckles, or maybe even leeches. But ... who are we kidding? Even the nit-pickiest of critics couldn't find anything wrong with the Dallas Cowboys' 40-0 dismantling of the New York Giants. It is, for crying out loud, the most impressive opener in franchise history.
It's the Cowboys' largest shutout victory in team history, eclipsing the defending Super Bowl XII champs starting the 1978 season with a 38-0 blanking of the Baltimore Colts. It is also their largest victory over the Giants since a 52-7 shellacking at the Cotton Bowl to open the 1966 season.
As they say in New York, when it rains ... it pours.
10. DEJA BLUE - This blowout was reminiscent of a Cowboys' prime-time opener that led to a Super Bowl almost 30 years ago. On Sept. 5, 1995 in then-Giants Stadium, the Cowboys throttled New York 35-0 on Monday Night Football. Emmitt Smith took his first hand-off 60 yards for a score and Dallas never really looked back, winning Super Bowl XXX five months later. In the late stages of that game, Jerry Jones frolicked on the fourth-quarter sideline with Nike czar Phil Knight and tennis star Monica Seles. Pretty sure Jerry stayed in his owner's suite Sunday night, but an early 26-0 lead and cakewalk victory likely provided him nostalgic vibes.
9. GIANT ADVANTAGE - In their last 12 season openers, the Cowboys have played the Giants seven times. Despite the lack of creativity from the NFL schedule makers - America's Team + America's Biggest TV market = boffo ratings - you won't hear much complaining from Dallas. It is now 6-1 in those games (10-1 all-time in openers vs. New York), including 2-0 on the road. That's seven openers against the Giants since 2012, compared to the last Week 1 matchup against Washington in 2010 and vs. the Eagles way back in 2000.
8. SHOCK BLOCK - The Giants drove the field on their opening possession and seemed poised to take an early lead. But on 3rd-and-2 from Dallas' 8-yard line, the wheels completely came off. A false-start penalty and a bad shotgun snap forced them to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt. But Cowboys' safety Juanyeh Thomas hopped between to blockers and easily blocked Graham Gano's kick. Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene scooped the ball and - aided by a Thomas block - scampered untouched 58 yards for a touchdown and an abrupt swing of momentum that changed the game radically, and permanently.
7. SPEED KILLS - For us old-timers, the Cowboys appeared to be playing at 78rpm and the Giants at 33rpm. For the young-uns, New York played in real time while Dallas swooshed past them at "FFx8." At times the defensive line seemed to be running pass-rush drills around merely blocking dummies. The Cowboys finished with seven sacks of beleaguered Giants' quarterback Daniel Jones.
6. DAK APPLE - As a rookie in 2016, Dak Prescott lost both his starts against the Giants. But he hasn’t been defeated by them since. Prescott has now beaten the Giants 11 consecutive games, throwing for 23 touchdowns against only seven interceptions in the process. Only other Cowboys quarterback to beat the Giants in 11 straight: fella named Roger Staubach.
5. 'ROOKIE' REVIEW - Both of Dallas' key newcomers paid early dividends, as cornerback Stephon Gilmore had an interception of Jones to set up a second-quarter touchdown and two pass breakups, while receiver Brandin Cooks drew a 37-yard pass-interference penalty and made two catches for 22 yards.
4. OFFSEASON OVERRATED? - NFL teams (especially coaches) are so enamored with players being at team facilities year-round. Offseason programs. OTAs. Minicamps. Training camps. Preseason. Gotta build camaraderie, and a close-knight culture. Right? Or ... you can get traded, join a new club and - just 12 days later - score the team's first touchdown of the season. Igbinoghene did just that, returning a blocked field goal for a score after arriving from the Miami Dolphins in a trade for Kelvin Joseph on Aug. 29.
3. SCRIPT, FLIPPED - This was a slightly better performance than a year ago when the Cowboys debuted on Sunday Night Football. In that debacle, they lost 19-3 to the Buccaneers and Prescott suffered a fractured thumb that sidelined him for five games. In this one, the Cowboys produced four sacks, two takeaways and a blocked field goal in a dominant first half and then coasted the rest of the way. Crazy game, this football. In last year's opening loss, Prescott threw for 134 yards. In this year's opening romp: 143.
2. TAKEAWAY TEMPLATE - Seems iffy to count on a plethora of takeaways as a blueprint for defensive success, but Dan Quinn's unit of ballhawks is picking right up where it left off the last two seasons. After leading the league with 34 in 2021 and another 33 last year, the Cowboys created three more turnovers in the opener. Not known for his tackling, cornerback Trevon Diggs launched a perfectly placed shoulder into the chest of Saquon Barkley to force a deflection that DaRon Bland plucked out of the air for a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 16-0 lead. Diggs later stripped Giants' receiver Isaiah Hodgins for a fumble recovered by Israel Mukuamu.
1. VICTORY VIA VARIETY - The odds had to be astronomical, but on a rainy night in Jersey the stars on the Cowboys helmets aligned. The first two touchdowns of the season were scored on special teams and defense, a first in the franchise's 64-year history.
