The Cowboys walked into MetLife Stadium with a chance to show that last year’s defensive nightmare was behind them. Instead, Sunday night served up a blunt reminder that old problems can hang around longer than anyone wants.
Dallas did not get flattened in every area, but the overall picture was ugly enough to make the offseason promises look hollow for now. The offense was dragged into the mess too, and that alone says plenty about how badly this opener went.
There were a few bright spots. Tyler Guyton deserves real credit after taking plenty of heat going into camp.
According to NFL Pro’s insights, he lined up for 20 pass-blocking matchups against Brian Burns and did not give up a single pressure. On the night, Guyton allowed just two pressures across 36 total pass blocks.
Caleb Downs also flashed the kind of ability people expected. His sack stood out, but he was not the problem for Dallas’ defense.
T.J. Bass, meanwhile, held up well after Tyler Smith’s thumb injury forced a reshuffle.
With Smith out at least a month, Bass stepped in and did what was asked of him.
The rest of the report leans heavily the other way, starting with Christian Parker. After months of praise and optimism, his first real test with the Cowboys was a rough one.
His defense got overwhelmed, and in a vacuum the performance was about as complete a failure as it could have been. One game does not decide everything, but it was a brutal debut.
Javonte Williams also landed in the wrong column, and for a simple reason: the taunting penalty. The frustration around the call is one thing, but the bigger issue is that he knew the rules and still cost the team a point.
Brian Schottenheimer did not escape blame either. Williams was not the only Cowboy making avoidable mistakes, with DeMarvion Overshown also drawing an early penalty for hitting Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart clearly out of bounds.
Those kinds of errors start at the top, and Schottenheimer has to clean them up fast.
Brandon Aubrey joined the list after missing the extra point that followed Williams’ penalty. It is hard to pin that miss entirely on Aubrey, but when you are paid at that level, the expectations get heavier. There is also a growing sense that he is not as automatic as he once was.
Overshown had a rough night before leaving with a hamstring injury. He was flagged, then repeatedly missed reads and looked out of place in the middle of the defense. That is a concern considering how long it has been since he last looked like a difference-maker for Dallas.
The pass rush was another major disappointment. Jaxson Dart threw for more than three touchdowns without an interception for the first time in his career, and the Cowboys never came close to making him uncomfortable.
Caleb Downs provided the clearest pressure of the night, which says a lot about how little Dallas got from the front. Donovan Ezeriuaku and Rashan Gary were quiet, and the Giants took advantage.
There is also the larger issue of division control, or at least the loss of it. Dallas has spent much of the Dak Prescott era bullying NFC East opponents, especially New York.
This was not that. The Cowboys came in with real intent and still got humbled by the new-look Giants.
The schedule does not give Dallas much time to dwell on it. Another divisional test is coming next week, and one of Washington or Dallas will be sitting at 0-2 after that one.
In Other News...
Cowboys Fans Have A New Overshown Question After That Giants Opener
The Cowboys season opener against the Giants brought an immediate jolt when New York hit the end zone early, but the bigger Dallas talking point may have come on defense. DeMarvion Overshown, back healthy after a tough run of knee injuries, is supposed to be a key piece in the Cowboys scheme, the kind of linebacker whose speed and urgency can change a game in a hurry.
Instead, one of the first moments fans latched onto was Overshowns late hit on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, a play that drew a penalty and is now under league review for a possible fine. For a player whose return already carries plenty of weight, the question in Dallas is no longer just how he fits into the defense, but how he balances that edge without giving away costly yards in the process. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Loss Exposed The Same Problems Fans Feared Most
The Cowboys opened the season with a loss to the Giants that did little to quiet the doubts hanging over the team after an offseason of change. Dallas fell 28-20 and, for long stretches, looked familiar in all the wrong ways as the defense again had trouble getting off the field and the offense spent too much time chasing the game.
New York converted 10 of 11 third downs, a number that says plenty about how often Dallas let manageable moments turn into drive-sustaining ones. Add in penalties, poor tackling, an interception and dropped passes, and the afternoon became less about one bad break than a collection of problems fans had been warning about before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Let A Winnable Night In New York Slip Away Fast
For a Dallas team that had a chance to turn a tense Sunday night into something far more manageable, the sequence before halftime was the kind of swing that lingers. The Cowboys got a fumble recovery near the break and briefly had life against the Giants, only for Dak Prescott to throw an interception that helped flip the mood almost immediately.
New York answered with a quick touchdown drive before halftime and never let the Cowboys get back on even footing. From there, Dallas spent the second half chasing the game instead of controlling it, and the Giants stayed in front all the way to a 28-20 finish. [Read more 🡒]