Cowboys Defeat Giants in Opener 24-17
By Ken Dye
The money the Cowboys spent on corners in the offseason seems to have paid out big dividends if the first game was any indication.
The Giants’ WRs stayed pretty well covered for most of the game. You can’t cover everyone all the time every play, but they did even better than I expected. Rob Ryan has the defense in good shape as the Cowboys eventually opened up a 14 point lead to win by 7 after forcing the Giants to throw short passes and eat clock the final 5+ minutes of the game.
Even the Cowboys’ offense had a good game. Tony Romo led a balanced attack as he threw for 303 yards on 22 of 29 passing with 3 TDs – two of which were to Kevin Ogletree, who likely solidified his spot as the teams #3 WR with 8 receptions for 114 yards.
RB DeMarco Murray added 131 yards on 20 carries.
Eli Manning went 21/32 for 213 yards and a TD. I counted at least 3 dropped passes by last year’s surprise stud WR, Victor Cruz. I’m not sure if it was first-game jitters or if the Dallas secondary had him hearing footsteps. Probably a bit of both, actually. As it was, he caught his passes underneath with 6 receptions for only 58 yards. Running back reception and yardage numbers there.
Ahmad Bradshaw added 78 yards rushing and a TD on 17 carries. Rookie David Wilson carried twice, fumbling once. Back to ball-security school for the rookie, it looks like.
Giants WR David Hixon looked good with 3 receptions for 55 yards and was open for a TD over the middle in the 4th quarter while the Giants trailed by 14 points. Manning overthrew him.
The Cowboys looked like the better team after both offenses had a three-and-out on their first possessions. For all their talent and experience, the Giants have some work to do. I wouldn’t count them out after the first game, however. They’ve been slow starters in the past and wound up with the Lombardi Trophy (see 2011 for instance). But all in all, Dallas fans should feel encouraged.
Oh – DeMarcus Ware had two sacks to Eli Mannings 1 TD pass. It looks like the kid in the commercial will grow up being a Dallas Cowboy fan after all.