Sep 272022
 
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (September 26, 2022)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS COWBOYS 23 – NEW YORK GIANTS 16…
The New York Giants lost their first game of the 2022 season by falling 23-16 to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are now 2-1. The Cowboys have defeated the Giants 10 times in the last 11 meetings between these two teams.

The overall team stats were not lopsided. Dallas held advantages in firsts downs (23 to 22), total net yards (391 to 336), net yards rushing (176 to 167), net yards passing (215 to 169), and time of possession (32:42 to 27:18). There was only one turnover in the game and it came on New York’s final possession. Both teams struggled on 3rd down, but the Cowboys converted on a key 4th-down conversion attempt in the 4th quarter.

The bulk of the 1st quarter was taken up by two Dallas drives and one by New York. The Cowboys ran five plays and punted on their initial possession. The Giants responded with an 11-play, 54-yard drive, but had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked by Dallas. The Cowboys then drove 55 yards in 10 plays to set up a successful 26-yard field goal that gave them a 3-0 lead with just over two minutes left in the quarter.

New York tied the game up 3-3 on their second possession of the game, another time-consuming drive that picked up 51 yards in 14 plays and set up place kicker Graham Gano for a successful 42-yard field goal. Unfortunately for the Giants, running back Tony Pollard broke off a 46-yard run on the first play of the ensuing Cowboys’ possession. The defense held inside the red zone to force another field goal. Cowboys 6 – Giants 3.

Neither team scored for the remainder of the first half. The Giants could not pick up a first down and punted. The Cowboys picked up two first downs and punted. The Giants gained 33 yards, but turned the ball over on downs on 4th-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 47-yard line with eight seconds left. Dallas then attempted a 59-yard field that was no good.

The Giants received the ball to start the second half and proceeded to immediately tie the game up at 6-6 after driving 42 yards in 10 plays. Gano kicked a 51-yard field goal. After a three-and-out by the Cowboys, the Giants maintained momentum with their only touchdown drive of the night. On the sixth play of the 77-yard possession, running back Saquon Barkley broke off a 36-yard cutback run that gave New York a 13-6 advantage with 5:31 left in the 3rd quarter.

The Cowboys immediately responded with their first touchdown drive of the night, marching 75 yards in 9 plays with running back Ezekiel Elliott scoring from one yard out on 3rd-and-goal. The game was now tied at 13-13 near the end of the quarter.

New York reached midfield but was forced to punt. Starting at their own 11-yard line, Dallas began an 11-play, 89-yard drive that put them ahead for good. The key play was a 4-yard pass completion on 4th-and-4 from the Giants’ 41-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Cooper Rush found wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for the 1-yard score and a 20-13 advantage.

The Giants could not gain a first down and punted again. The Cowboys returned the kick 28 yards to the New York 35-yard line. They only needed nine yards to set up a successful 44-yard field goal. With just under six minutes to play, the Cowboys were up by 10 points, 23-13.

Aided by a face-mask penalty on the Cowboys, the Giants reached the Dallas 22-yard line before an intentional grounding penalty pushed New York back. Gano kicked a 51-yard field goal with 3:37 left, making the score 23-16.

The Cowboys gained one first down and punted. The Giants had the ball with 1:45 left on the clock, but they were starting from their own 9-yard line with no timeouts. On 2nd-and-15 from the 16-yard line, quarterback Daniel Jones’ pass for wide receiver David Sills was intercepted when Sills fell down. Making matters worse is that wide receiver Sterling Shepard appeared to suffer a serious, non-contact knee injury on this play. He had to be carted off the field. Rush then knelt on the ball to end the game.

Jones finished the night 2o-of-37 for 196 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Jones was sacked five times, officially hit 12 times, and was victimized by a number of dropped passes. No Giants’ player had more than 49 yards receiving. Barkley carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards and one score that gained almost half of his yardage total.

New York’s defense did not accrue a sack or turnover. The Dallas quarterback was only hit twice and the Giants only were credited with one tackle for a loss.

Video highlights are available on NFL.com.

ROSTER MOVES, PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Monday, the Giants activated DL Henry Mondeaux and CB Fabian Moreau from the Practice Squad to the 53-man roster.

Inactive for the game were WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), DL Leonard Williams (knee), CAaron Robinson (appendix), CB Nick McCloud (hamstring), CB Justin Layne (concussion), and OLB Tomon Fox.

WR Sterling Shepard injured his left knee on last offensive play of the night for the Giants. He had to be carted off of the field.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll will address the media by conference call on Tuesday.

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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