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New Season, Same Ol’ Cowboys
- Updated: September 12, 2016
On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Giants for their 2016 opening game. They’d have a new starting QB and running back to start this new season. However, it was a new year but same ol’ result as the Cowboys lost yet another game where they outplayed their opponent yet fell victim to their own ineptitude. Let’s run down the team stats for a second here. The Cowboys had 328 total yards to the Giants’ 318. The Cowboys had 24 first downs to the Giants 18. The Cowboys had over 36 minutes in time of possession the Giants only had 23 minutes. The Cowboys even won the turnover battle committing no turnovers while the Giants had 1 on an Eli Manning interception. Yet the Giants came out ahead in the most important stat of all scoring 20 points to the Cowboys 19 and ultimately winning the game. The Cowboys committed more penalties, had more drops, and made more boneheaded decisions (players and coaching staff) than the Giants. None more mind-boggling than when 4th year receiver Terrance Williams, who should definitely know better, caught a pass late in the 4th quarter when the Cowboys were out of time-outs and decided to turn up field to pick up a few extra yards instead of running out of bounds and stopping the clock. The consequences of his actions resulting as the game clock ticking all the way down to 0 as Prescott desperately tried to take the snap and spike the ball.
Speaking of Prescott, much was expected of him after lighting it up in the preseason and though he didn’t play poorly by any stretch he certainly wasn’t good either. It didn’t help that the Cowboys offensive line had about as poor a game as I’ve seen them play in the last 3 years. The running game was almost non-existent as Ezekiel Elliot carried the ball 20 times for just 51 yards, resulting in a whopping 2.5 yards per carry. The revamped Giants defensive line completely controlled the trenches the majority of the game an thoroughly outplayed what is widely seen as “the best offensive line in the NFL.” As a Cowboys fan I think the group you have to most be pleased with is the defense. Yes they came up very small in the 4th quarter on the Giants game winning drive but I have to tell ya, if you told me the Cowboys defense was going to hold the Giants to just 20 points and Odell Beckham to just 73 yards on 4 catches, I would have told you the Cowboys most likely win the game. We have to remember that 3 of the Cowboys projected starters are currently suspended and for them to still come out and play the way they did I have to say I was impressed. There’s only so much that unit is capable of doing and holding what was a top 10 offense a year ago to just 20 points I’d say is about the most you can hope for. Dallas has to be better on offense or they simply are not going to win a lot of games in 2016.
But let’s not make this all about what the Cowboys didn’t do and give the Giants some much deserved credit for winning a tough game on the road against a team they have struggled with over the past few years. Eli threw the 1 interception but other than that he actually played pretty well tossing 3 TDs and posting a 110 passer rating for the game. The Giants actually ran the football well which is something that was a huge question mark about them coming into the year. But the most impressive thing I saw from the Giants was how they played on defense. They played very well on the defensive line and we saw much improved corner back play. All the offseason additions made a world of difference. They’re not going to be an elite defense but I can definitely guarantee they won’t finish at the bottom of the league this year like they did a year ago.
Ultimately, it’s just week 1 and there’s no reason for either team to go overboard with confidence or doubt. Both teams have a lot of work to do to get better but one things for sure, the NFC East is going to be very competitive and intriguing for yet another season.
