Rain was the only thing that poured on Sunday night at New York’s Giants Stadium. Dallas Cowboys were trailing when Tony Pollard made a one-yard touchdown run, and it woke up the end zone. The score went up to 33-0 at MetLife Stadium in the third quarter. It ended 40-0.

New York had no aggressive response that would give Dallas an easy platform for points.

Let’s dive deeper with five key takeaways:

A Game-Changing Momentum Shift

New York started with the ball and went 48 yards down the field in 11 plays (they were last below the three-yard line in the last play, having gone down from the third yard). Seven minutes passed on the clock until the incident, and Giants were connected and confident. After that, Graham Gano’s field goal attempt was blocked, and Noah Igbinoghene returned 58 yards for a touchdown.

New York never looked connected or confident again, and Dallas never looked back.

 Daniel Jones’ Forgettable Night

Daniel Jones is having a forgettable night. Jones signed a four-year, $160 million deal with the Giants last offseason, equivalent to $40 million per year.  He was benched seven times, completing 43 rushing yards on 13 attempts. This is not what you’d expect from a $40 million player, for sure.

Undoubtedly, the season and the weak offensive line weren’t the best for Jones, but these signs were visible from the last season unless he made a significant improvement. It doesn’t seem like it in Week 1.

Life After Ezekiel Elliott Begins Strong for Dallas

For the first time since 2016, Dallas started a season without Elliott in the backfield. However, it was still time to move forward, and they did it seamlessly, with Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, and Corey Clement all doing their part. Pollard, in particular, stood out with 70 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.
Clement quickly added a touchdown too. Their production made life easier for Prescott, who wasn’t outstanding by numbers—13-for-24 for 143 yards, no touchdowns, and no picks—but didn’t need to be.

New York’s Lackluster WR Standards on Display

New York made the playoffs last season as an NFC Wild Card with Darius Slayton as their top wideout. Slayton posted 724 yards, 46 catches, and two touchdowns in 16 games.

The Giants needed more to make it to the next level, and this deficiency became evident that they could fall behind.

Darnell Mooney led the receiving department, but nobody really made a significant impact on the game. He managed three catches, including one for 24 yards to Isaiah Hodgins, on 36 yards in the end. Yes, it wasn’t quite impressive.

Cowboys’ Super Bowl-Level Defense Shines 

They won a defensive championship, and it looks like Dallas owns a capable unit. New York’s aggressive line didn’t offer definitive resistance to the Cowboys’ pressure, but seven sacks and 11 QB hits tell a different story.

Not to mention, they took the ball away from New York’s hands so many times that if they didn’t resolve fumbling issues, they might get benched.

It’s not to mention that they stripped the ball away from New York’s hands. So much so that if they don’t fix their fumbling issues, they might get benched.

“Domination in Dallas: Cowboys Deliver Record 40-0 Shutout to Error-Prone Giants in NFC East Rivalry Series”

If they continue to play this way throughout the season, owner Jerry Jones may once again be in contention for a championship.

Noah Igbinoghene blocked a field goal attempt from 58 yards for a touchdown early in the game, Trevon Diggs picked off a pass for a pick-six in the first quarter, and the Cowboys embarrassed the Giants on Sunday night, starting the season with a 40-0 victory.

“This marks our inaugural game,” mentioned Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ quarterback.. “It’s up to you all to make what it is. For us, it’s not about getting ahead of ourselves.

It’s about staying disciplined, staying composed. Not only what we did over these four months but carrying that and making sure we use that during this week, throughout this week in our preparation.”

Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns, and Dallas forced three turnovers and sacked Daniel Jones seven times, shutting down the Giants again with a 40-0 victory Sunday night, the fifth time in 13 meetings since New York moved into MetLife Stadium.

The Giants’ shutout loss was the largest between teams to start a season, surpassing the Eagles’ 35-0 victory over the Cowboys in 1995, also in the Meadowlands..

“I seen it coming,” Cowboys defensive tackle Micah Parsons said. “I’ve been eager to visit New York, as I mentioned to all of you.” I knew what time it was. ‘The Preparation of the Gallows,’ nobody is stopping that. We’ve been feeling this. We’ve been in the fight before. We know the standard.”

It was the kind of game that showed whether the Giants had erased the Cowboys and defending NFC East champion Philadelphia’s hold on the division.

Cowboys Cruise to Victory

The Cowboys didn’t need much from Prescott and their offense. They got a 2-yard TD run from Pollard after Branden Eubanks blocked a punt, and Pollard had a 2-yard TD run in the middle of the second quarter to put Dallas up 26-0 so the Cowboys could coast into halftime.

The halftime shutout margin for a home team in Week 1 was the fourth-largest, with only the Eagles rallying from 34-0 down to beat the Bucs in 1988 having a bigger comeback. The others were the Steelers (30-0 over the Browns in 1989) and the Colts (27-0 over the Rams in 1954).

Pollard, running back in place of Ezekiel Elliott, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury, had a 1-yard run in the third quarter. The game changed in the early going. New York won the toss, came out, and Saquon Barkley and Jones moved the Giants to the Dallas 8.

On third and 2, left tackle Andrew Thomas moved early and center Jonotthan Harrison – a second-round pick in the next round – snapped the ball. Jones recovered it at the 27.

Graham Gano had his 45-yard field goal attempt blocked by Jaquan Thomas, who reached the ball over the line at the end of a gap and easily swatted it away.Igbinoghene picked it up at the 42 and wasn’t touched in scoring.

After a 21-yard field goal by Graham Gano, the Giants’ 8-minute drive in the fourth quarter ended when Blanton picked off a swinging pass by quarterback John Love, who caught the ball in the air and returned it.

The game was never close after that, just showing how bad the Giants played, with Gano leaving with 1:05 left in the half and 36 yards on 8 plays, causing both teams to leave the field at halftime.

Doubling down after the game, no one made excuses and credited Dallas.

“I’m focused on trying to get better and there is a lot of getting better to do,” said Coach Vic Fangio, who led New York to the playoffs last season. “It’s a game. It was a bad game, and that’s on me.”

Jones completed 15 of 28 passes for 104 yards with a quarterback rating of 32.4. Prescott was 13 of 24 for 143 yards with 2 touchdowns as the Cowboys handed the Giants their 11th straight loss.

“We’re not making the season clear for ourselves with one loss,” veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “It’s definitely OK, and we’ve got to get back to work soon.”

Injuries

Cowboys: LG Tyler Smith started because Connor Williams was inactive due to a hamstring injury. Chuma Edoga replaced him early in the third quarter. T.J. Bash replaced Edoga.

Giants:
CB Deonte Banks left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. Gano was clean on a blocked field goal attempt. Game Notes

U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff was on the field before the game. it was Thomas’ first career blocked field goal attempt in his first game with the Cowboys, and the first career TD for Igbinoghene with the Cowboys.

Sports Info: Alabama Football Rankings Crimson