The Dallas Cowboys steamrolled the New York Giants 40-0 with an outstanding defensive performance in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. Micah Parsons shined, while quarterback Daniel Jones had a night to forget.
You can find the rest of the game reports from Sunday of Week 1 here!
Giants vs. Cowboys: At a glance
- A blocked field goal that the Cowboys returned for a touchdown was the beginning of the end for the New York Giants, who then suffered a series of mistakes.
- Daniel Jones played probably the worst game of his career and was a symbol of a Giants offense that achieved absolutely nothing.
- Star edge rusher Micah Parsons once again excelled and made the difference up front with his sheer presence. Dak Prescott, on the other hand, was rested at the beginning of the final quarter.
Giants vs. Cowboys: The Recap
The Giants put together a decent first drive in front of their home crowd and made it into the red zone to the 13-yard line. What followed was already the beginning of the end for the G-Men. Rookie center John Michael Schmitz’s snap sailed past quarterback Daniel Jones in the shotgun at 3rd & 7 and didn’t result in a turnover, but did result in a 45-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano.
Juanyeh Thomas blocked the kick and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene carried the ball 58 yards into the opposing end zone for the game’s first touchdown. The subsequent extra point missed, but Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey redeemed himself a little later with a 21-yard field goal. And in the first quarter, Jones then threw a pick-six to cornerback DaRon Bland over 22 yards. 0:16 after a quarter!
In the second quarter, Stephon Gilmore also caught another interception, after which running back Tony Pollard scored his first of two touchdowns in the game. And Gano also missed a field goal attempt from 36 at the end of the first half.
In the second half it was all about damage limitation for New York and for the guests about finishing the game properly. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was allowed to sit on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter and was replaced by Cooper Rush.
New York Giants (0-1) – Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
Result: 0:40 (0:16, 0:10, 0:7, 0:7) BOXSCORE
Giants vs. Cowboys: The most important statistics
- The Cowboys became only the third team in NFL history to score both a defensive and special teams touchdown in the first quarter of a game. Previously, only the 1967 and 1986 Chicago Bears achieved this.
- Before halftime, the Cowboys had four sacks against Daniel Jones. Micah Parsons was largely responsible for this, as he accounted for four pressures and a sack in 18 pass-rush snaps according to “Next Gen Stats”. What’s special: All four Cowboys sacks came when the Giants double-teamed Parsons.
- The Cowboys held the Giants to 63 passing yards and 171 total yards. The Cowboys had 265 total yards, but also benefited from three takeaways.
The star of the game: Micah Parsons (edge rusher, Cowboys)
The Cowboys’ best defender showed early on why he is one of the top candidates for Defensive Player of the Year. He led his team with six pressures (1 sack) and thus also created gaps for the people next to him. He once again paved the way for a dominant defensive performance for the Cowboys.
The flop of the game: Daniel Jones (quarterback, Giants)
Jones simply had the worst game of his career (since 2019). His passer rating of 32.4 was the lowest of his career, and he was under constant fire. The Cowboys blitzed him on over 34 percent of his dropbacks, he saw 22 pressures (!) against him and recorded seven sacks.
The highlight of the game
Noah Igbinoghene’s 58-yard blocked field goal return touchdown turned the game on its head early and put Dallas on the road to victory.