Sep 26, 2022; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. — Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Giants Fall to Cowboys 23-16 on Monday Night Football

The Giants' offense sputtered while the defense's pass rush was virtually non-existent.

Author:
Joe Najarian
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2022 12:01 AM EDT

In this story:

East Rutherford, N.J. - The Giants suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the Cooper Rush-led Dallas Cowboys in MetLife Stadium, 23-16.

Quarterback Daniel Jones, facing heavy pressure all night, completed 20 of 37 passes for 196 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. His top target was Sterling Shepard, who caught five passes for 49 yards. Jones also racked up 79 rushing yards on nine carries but was sacked five times and hit 16 behind a shaky offensive line that constantly forced the fourth-year quarterback to go on the run.

Saquon Barkley ran back for 81 yards on 14 carries, including a 36-yard touchdown run.

The offensive line struggled immensely, particularly rookie lineman Evan Neal, who was beaten by the Cowboys’ relentless pass rush launched by DeMarcus Lawrence, who gathered three of the Cowboys sacks.

After forcing the Cowboys to punt on the opening drive, the Giants’ offense avoided a three-and-out due to a defensive holding penalty on third down. They proceeded to put together a promising drive into Dallas territory, with Jones completing five passes for 59 yards, including a 20-yard catch-and-run by rookie TE Daniel Bellinger. But the drive stalled at the Dallas 29-yard line, and Dorance Armstrong blocked kicker Graham Gano’s 47-yard field goal attempt to leave the Giants empty-handed.

The blocked kick would spark the Cowboys’ offense, as they moved 55 yards in 10 plays to the Giants’ 3-yard line. But the Giants, assisted by a false start on Dallas, kept the Cowboys out of the end zone when LB Jihad Ward swatted down Rush’s third-down pass. Although the Cowboys still struck first on kicker Brett Maher’s 26-yard field goal, the Giants still limited the damage with a good red zone stand.

The Giants’ offense responded with another productive drive, moving 51 yards in 14 plays. Two third-down conversions bolstered the drive, and Jones picked up a first down with a 10-yard scramble. Dallas eventually halted the Giants at the 24-yard line, but this time Gano cashed in with a 42-yard field goal to tie the game at three.

The Cowboys started their next drive with good field position at their own 37, and they looked poised to find the end zone after a 46-yard scamper by Tony Pollard. But again, the Giants’ defense held firm, forcing an incompletion in the end zone on 3rd-and-3 at their 10-yard line. Dallas again had to settle for a Maher field goal, converting from 28 yards.

After the Giants were forced to punt, the defense caught a break when a wide-open CeeDee Lamb dropped what almost certainly would have been a touchdown pass. Dallas would eventually face 4th-and-10 at the Giants 40. Still, despite having a reliable kicker in Maher, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy elected to punt the ball away, giving the Giants one more drive before halftime.

But a highly questionable offensive pass interference call on Sterling Shepard negated what would have been a 20-yard catch by Kenny Golladay, and the Giants’ offense would turn the ball over on downs. After Maher missed a 59-yard field goal attempt for Dallas, the score remained 6-3 Cowboys at the half.

The Giants moved 42 yards in 10 plays in the second half with the ball. Although Jones was sacked twice on the drive, he had 13 and 17-yard scrambles to help the offense advance to the Dallas 33, where Gano nailed a 51-yarder to knot the game up at six.

The Giants’ defense quickly forced the Cowboys to go three-and-out, breaking up a pair of deep passes from Rush. The Giants would grab their first lead of the night with six plays on offense later. After offsetting penalties on both teams, Jones found David Sills for 14 yards and completed a six-yard pass to Bellinger two plays later for a first down at the Dallas 36. On the next play, Saquon Barkley broke free and electrified the MetLife Stadium crowd with a 36-yard touchdown run. The Giants now led, 13-6.

But the Cowboys would strike back with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Rush completed a 17-yard pass to Lamb on the drive’s first play and later hooked up with TE Peyton Hendershot for 29 yards to enter the red zone. Four plays later, Ezekiel Elliott scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 13.

The Giants were forced to punt on their next drive, and Dallas retook the lead with an 11-play, 89-yard touchdown drive. Facing 4th-and-4 at the Giants' 41, the Cowboys converted with a 4-yard pass to Lamb and passes to Hendershot and Lamb for 10, and 27 yards moved the ball to the Giants 1-yard line. Lamb then made a highlight-reel one-handed catch for a touchdown to put Dallas back ahead, 20-13.

The Giants went three-and-out on their next drive, punctuated by drops from Shepard and Golladay. Punter Jamie Gillian then saved what could have been a touchdown for Dallas by tackling punt returner Kavontae Turpin after a 28-yard return; Maher would ultimately kick his third field goal from 44 yards out.

The Giants’ offense drove 42 yards in 9 plays, advancing as far as the Dallas 22, but had to settle for Gano’s third field goal, good from 51 yards. Although the Cowboys would advance to their own 46, a game-saving third-down tackle by Julian Love gave the Giants one last shot to find the endzone.

Unfortunately, Jones would throw a game-losing interception to Trevon Diggs, sealing the Giants’ first loss.