Dallas Cowboys 35 – New York Giants 17

The New York Giants Defense

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DALLAS COWBOYS 35 – NEW YORK GIANTS 17…
The New York Giants were clearly outclassed by the Dallas Cowboys 35-17 in the regular-season opener at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. The Giants begin the 2019 season with a divisional loss.

In many ways, the game was even more lopsided than the final score would suggest. The Cowboys scored touchdowns on five straight drives from the 1st quarter to the 3rd quarter, only calling off the dogs in the 4th quarter.

New York actually took the early lead after forcing the Cowboys to punt on their initial possession and followed that up with a 7-play, 89-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 59-yard run by running back Saquon Barkley, and ending with a 1-yard touchdown reception by tight end Evan Engram from quarterback Eli Manning. Oddly, despite this early success, Head Coach Pat Shurmur only called 11 carries for Barkley on the day.

After that, the roof caved in on New York as Dallas scored touchdowns on every possession until the 4th quarter. The Giants could not stop the pass as quarterback Dak Prescott registered a perfect quarterback rating (158.3) as he completed 25-of-32 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. The Giants pass rush was invisible (no sacks, only two quarterback hits) and the coverage was even worse. Dallas’ five possessions:

• 11 plays, 75 yards, touchdown
• 9 plays, 93 yards, touchdown
• 13 plays, 83 yards, touchdown
• 3 plays, 75 yards, touchdown
• 7 plays, 89 yards, touchdown

At that point, the 3rd quarter was ending and the Cowboys were up 35-10.

Meanwhile, the Giants’ offense couldn’t keep pace. After New York’s initial scoring drive, the team’s other three first-half possessions ended with two punts and a turnover on downs on a Hail Mary deep pass at the end of the half. The Giants cut the scored to 21-10 on their initial drive of the 3rd quarter, but Dallas simply responded with another touchdown. On New York’s ensuing possession, the drive ended on 4th-and-1 at the Cowboys’ 7-yard line when Manning was sacked, causing a fumble that was recovered by Dallas. The Cowboys scored for their final time on the subsequent possession.

The third and final score by the Giants came in garbage time with running back Wayne Gallman scoring from two yards out with less than three minutes to play.

Manning finished 30-of-44 for 306 yards and one touchdown. His leading receiver was Engram, who caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Barkley carried the ball 11 times for 120 yards.

The Giants’ defense allowed 494 yards (405 through the air). The Giants did not register a sack, interception, or force a fumble. They only hit the quarterback twice and only had three pass defenses.

Video lowlights are available at Giants.com.

INACTIVES AND INJURY REPORT…
WR Darius Slayton (hamstring), TE Garrett Dickerson (quad), QB Alex Tanney, RB Paul Perkins, OG/OT Chad Slade, and OT Eric Smith were inactive.

Linebacker Kareem Martin injured his knee and did not return.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Pat Shurmur and the following players are available at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Pat Shurmur (Video)
• QB Eli Manning (Video)
• QB Daniel Jones (Video)

GIANTS RESTRUCTURE NATE SOLDER’S CONTRACT…
In order to create more short-term salary cap room, the New York Giants have restructured the contract of left tackle Nate Solder. The Giants reportedly converted $7.5 million of Solder’s 2019 base salary into a fully-guaranteed roster bonus. The Giants had entered the season with the NFL’s least amount of cap space. ESPN is reporting that this revision will create an additional $5 million in immediate cap space but adds $2.5 million to the cap in both 2020 and 2021.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Pat Shurmur and select players will address the media by conference call on Monday. The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.