For the first time, the NFL season kicked off on a Wednesday night. As custom dictates, the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys.
After a fairly sloppy first half, defined by Dallas somehow overcoming their poor offensive line play, the Giants dominant pass rush and penalty after penalty, the Cowboys ended the half with a 14-3 lead on the strength of Kevin Ogletree’s first touchdowns of his career.
On the strength of their running game and their pass defense, the Cowboys were able to keep the Giants at bay. Tony Romo picked apart the Giants leaky secondary completing 22/29 passes for 307 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception and the Giants were unable to contain Demarco Murray on the ground who ran for 131 yards.
Eli Manning was reasonably effective in fighting for the Giants to stay in the game passing for 213 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Cowboys seemed to win this game in spite of themselves, showing a lack of discipline by conceding 13 penalties but the Giants were unable to capitalize on this. On the strength of defense and Romo’s efficient passing, the Cowboys opened the season with a 24-17 win in a critical NFC East matchup.
Positives for the Giants:
Despite their leaky secondary, the Giants unveiled a dangerous defense. Their pass rush looked nasty, Jason Pierre-Paul especially. Pierre-Paul toyed with Tyron Smith who looked out of his depth. At 23 Pierre-Paul figures to be a star and to consistently tally double digit sacks. With Pierre-Paul only getting better and Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora the Giants will scare every team they face. Although sacks attract a lot of attention, the domination of the Giants pass rusher is most clearly seen in the amount of penalties the Cowboys conceded on offense. Flags for false starts, delay of games and holds came time and time again indicating the disruptive presence of the Giants pass rush. The Giants front seven will be dominant throughout the season but their lapses in the secondary seriously undermine the outlook.
Positives for the Cowboys:
The Cowboys made significant moves in the offseason to improve their secondary. Longtime starter Terrence Newman is gone and his former cornerback partner Mike Jenkins has been relegated from starting.
After splurging on former Chiefs corner Brandon Carr in free agency the Cowboys shocked the NFL in capturing the elite LSU prospect Mo’ Claiborne. Although Claiborne did show his inexperience, Carr and Claiborne signaled that the Cowboys secondary figures to be among the best in the league.
Demarcus Ware again reminded the league why he is the most feared pass rusher in the NFL. With two first half sacks Ware tallied his 100th sack at the second quickest rate in the history of the NFL.
Ware is an electric presence that forces game plans to focus on restricting his destructive presence.
The Giants frequently placed tight ends and backs to slow him down but this extra attention allowed others to capitalize on one on one matchups.
With the Cowboys improved secondary, Ware is poised to have the best season of his career.
Negatives for the Giants:
Once again, the Giants running game appears toothless.
After ranking 32nd in the league in rushing, the Giants seemed unable to consistently gain yards on the ground. Running back David Wilson was drafted at the end of the first round to provide some consistency and balanced offense for the Giants but he was a non-factor in the game carrying the ball twice and losing a fumble on one of these carries.
Ahmad Bradshaw was contained and only had one substantial run. The blame for the Giants lack of a running game should not solely fall on the backs, the Giants offensive line was unable to generate any forward momentum.
After Michael Boley’s interception return found the Giants at the 1 yard line, the Giants twice ran the ball for negative yardage wasting a golden opportunity to score.
Although Manning has shown that he is an elite quarterback and can singlehandedly win games, the Giants inability to keep defenses honest flags a serious concern for the Giants looking forward for the rest of the season.
Negatives for the Cowboys:
Although the Giants possess one of the most dangerous pass rushes in the NFL, the Cowboys offensive line was atrocious. They conceded far too many penalties including numerous procedural penalties including false starts and delay of game highlighting their lack of discipline and illegal play such as holding highlight their inferior talent.
Left tackle Tyron Smith was terrible, conceding penalties of both varieties and being dominated by Pierre-Paul.
Fill in center Ryan Cook added to offensive line concerns frequently causing procedural penalties due to his obvious lack of chemistry with Romo. Despite these concerns, the Cowboys offensive line was able to establish a very strong running game paving the way for Demarco Murray to run for 131 yards on 20 carries.
The running game proved to be the difference for the Cowboys but the line will continue to be a question that the Cowboys will need to address.
Looking Forward:
The Giants will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the Cowboys will continue their road trip by heading west to take on the Seattle Seahawks.
Article link: NFL Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants wrap up. Written by hotairitout, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion