Big Blue Review – Week 2 at Cowboys; L; NYG: 37, DAL: 40
Well, at least they showed they can score. After failing to find the end zone in Week 1, the Giants scored 37 points against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday… and lost. In overtime. They have now lost 16 of their last 17 games against Dallas, 14 straight against them, nine straight in their building, and eight straight against division opponents.
This is Week 2 of Big Blue Review!
Big Blue Review – Week 2 at Cowboys; L; NYG: 37, DAL: 40
Amazingly, the Giants were able to score 37 points after an awful first quarter in which substitute left tackle James Hudson III became the first NFL player in the last century to be called for four penalties on one drive. That was the start of a game filled with storylines, including the Giants drawing 14 penalties for a franchise record 160 yards lost. There were a couple of questionable pass interference and roughing the passer penalties, but the Giants still lacked discipline for most of the game.
“Did you watch the game?” Dexter Lawrence II asked sarcastically. “We had too many penalties on defense. You’re not going to win games with all those penalties like that. We gave them too many second chances to bite at the apple.”
Although the Giants went 0-and-2 for the seventh time in nine seasons, Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards, the second most in his career. His deep passes are referred to as moon balls, and he threw plenty of them on Sunday.
With the Giants leading 6-0, Dallas scored a field goal to open the second quarter, but then the Giants scored their first touchdown of the season. Wilson delivered a deep 25-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson, and then he threw a 29-yard pass to Malik Nabers for the touchdown. Robinson finished the day with eight catches for 142 yards, including one touchdown. Nabers totaled 167 yards on nine receptions, and he scored two touchdowns.
The Giants led 13-10 at halftime, and Dallas scored the first points of the third quarter with a touchdown. The Giants responded with a 33-yard field goal on a drive that included a 52-yard pass to Darius Slayton.
In the fourth quarter, Dallas extended their lead with a field goal, and the Giants responded with another touchdown. On a five-play drive, highlighted by a 24-yard carry by Cam Skattebo, the rookie running back drove the ball up the middle for six points. Skattebo brings tremendous energy and power to the Giants’ running back room, and he was ready to dominate on the field, where he scored three touchdowns in the Big 12 Championship Game last year.
Dallas, of course, scored another touchdown on their next possession, gaining a 27-23 lead. But then, the Giants had a phenomenal drive, with Robinson catching a 32-yard moon ball in the end zone for a touchdown to regain the lead. But they couldn’t maintain the lead. Dallas added seven more points, and they were up by four points with 56 seconds left in regulation.
And then, miraculously, the Giants went on an incredible 27-second scoring drive. Wilson hurled a ball 48 yards down the field to Malik Nabers, and with his eyes obstructed by Dallas defenders, he made the catch for the touchdown.
“When Leek scored, I was like, ‘We’ve got to be able to get this one,” Robinson said. It was one of the most impressive Giants catches in years, and it had a chance to be an all-time moment for this team.
But it wasn’t. Not even remotely. If anything, the eventual outcome made this game memorable for all the wrong reasons. Dallas stormed right back, and with five seconds left in regulation, Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal look like a chip shot, sending the game to overtime.
“If my man for the Cowboys didn’t have a bionic leg, we probably do win,” said Darius Slayton.
For so many seasons, the Giants’ defense has fallen apart late in games. You’d think they’re being told to blitz every time, given the number of passing plays they allow. Last season, the Giants’ secondary was a major issue, so they made some changes by signing Jevon Holland and Paulson Adebo in free agency. With 14 seconds remaining in regulation, Dak Prescott completed an 18-yard pitch-and-catch to Jake Ferguson. The Giants’ defense made it very easy for Ferguson to make that catch and put his team in Aubrey’s kicking range.
Dru Phillips, Bobby Okereke, and Dane Belton were lined up in midfield, but none of them could catch the tight end Ferguson, who ran right down the middle before making the catch at the Giants’ 49-yard line. He avoided Holland and Tyler Nubin, who were playing behind the 50-yard line. The Giants must have known Prescott would attempt a pass on that play, and that he could complete it for 18 yards, right?
Wrong.
“Really, the mindset is just get off the field,” said Holland. “You’ve got to close out. We really just needed to be tighter on those guys, make [Prescott] throw it harder, make him pump one time, maybe the rush gets there.”
Perhaps the Giants could have run toward Prescott instead of hanging around midfield, but defensive coordinator Shane Bowen should have been able to arrange his defense well enough to at least attempt a pass breakup. There were enough defenders positioned downfield. If he didn’t think the secondary could make a play in that spot with 14 seconds left, then maybe he should have arranged a blitz. There were enough cornerbacks positioned deep, and a rush would have at least disrupted Dallas’ pace.
Did Bowen make the wrong play call? Did he even make a clear call at all? It seemed like he wasn’t prepared for the pressure Dallas was bringing, with the best placekicker in the league on their side. “We’d like to be a little bit tighter,” said head coach Brian Daboll. “But there’s a number of plays that came up throughout the game that if you have one different play there or here, it’s going to make a difference in a game like that.”
The Giants won the overtime coin toss, and because new NFL rules allow each team to have a possession, the Giants chose to defer. They forced Dallas to punt on their first possession, but they could only make five plays in their own. Russell Wilson got sacked on the third play of the drive and fumbled the ball. By the time he recovered it, the Giants had lost 14 yards.
Dallas punted again on their next drive, thanks to a sack by Elijah Garcia and an offensive pass interference penalty against George Pickens. But the Giants couldn’t capitalize, and on the second play of their next drive, Russell Wilson got intercepted on a deep ball intended for Malik Nabers.
“Just believing in my guy,” said Wilson. “He had an unbelievable game, Malik. There is nobody I trust more. Just a little miscommunication.”
On Dallas’ first play of their third possession of overtime, Prescott completed a 27-yard pass to Pickens, and the football was already in Aubrey’s range. The Cowboys made a couple of rushing plays to make it easier for Aubrey, but he had no trouble walking off the game with a 46-yard field goal.
Team Stats:
Scoring Breakdown:
Scoring Drives:
In Week 3, the New York Giants (0-2) will host the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) in their home opener on Sunday Night Football (SNF).
Sunday Night Football (SNF) Injury Report (9/19):
LB Darius Muasau (concussion/eye) did not practice today and has been ruled OUT to play on Sunday night.
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Flowles (calf) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled DOUBTFUL to play on Sunday night.
DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (foot) did not practice today and has been ruled DOUBTFUL to play on Sunday night.
DL Chauncey Golston (ankle) did not practice today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
WR Gunner Olszewski (back) did not practice today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
WR Wan’Dale Robinson (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
G Jon Runyan (back) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
C John Michael Schmitz (toe) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
WR Darius Slayton (C) (groin/calf) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
T Andrew Thomas (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. (calf) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
DT Roy Robertson-Harris (knee) was a full participant in practice today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
RB Cam Skattebo (ankle) was a full participant in practice today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday night.
Big Blue Transactions:
9/17: NYG sent DB LeMareon James to the Practice Squad.
9/17: NYG terminated DB Dee Williams from the Practice Squad.
9/16: NYG signed free agent LB Swayze Bozeman from the Practice Squad.
9/16: NYG placed LB Chris Board on injured reserve.
9/16: NYG made LB Neville Hewitt a Practice Squad Veteran.
9/16: NYG made LB Curtis Jacobs a Practice Squad Exception.
9/16: NYG sent WR Dalen Cambre to the Practice Squad.
9/16: NYG terminated TE Qadir Ismail from the Practice Squad.
9/16: NYG terminated DB Patrick McMorris from the Practice Squad.
