Instead, Dallas did all those things, as the Giants prevailed 20-19 in a game marked by several National Football League premieres (Ben McAdoo as head coach; Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott as the rookie QB-RB tandem in Dallas; and Giants rookie wide out Sterling Shepard, who made a leaping 9-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter and – teamed with the returning Victor Cruz and some guy named Beckham Jr. – is going to give the Giants an explosive offense).
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The Cowboys were 1-11 in 12 games without Romo during last year’s 4-12 campaign.
Dez did catch a ball in the end zone, but he was ruled out of bounds and TD has been annulled.
“No, to be honest with you, but I’m excited to have that opportunity”, Cruz said after catching four passes for 34 yards and a score. “Wanted obviously to do the dance”. “I should have just followed procedures and should have just gone out of bounds”.
“I’m going to continue to run our offense”. The Giants’ red-zone defense kept this game close in the first half despite the Cowboys’ big time of possession advantage, a huge reason the Giants won.
Perhaps most important, the Giants’ defensive line did a nice job of limiting the Cowboys’ running game, holding Ezekiel Elliott and Alfred Morris to an average of 3.1 yards per carry. It prevented the Cowboys from attempting a long field goal. “If Dez is the read, Dez is the read”, said Prescott.
When it comes to these types of situations, you would think that football players who get paid to play this game for a living, and practice these in-game situations countless times so they would not make these types of error agains. PK Josh Brown, who returned from a one-game suspension, did not want to talk with the media Tuesday.
REINFORCEMENTS: The opener brightened the outlook for the NY defense after its overhaul in free agency.
Many are upset at wide receiver Terrance Williams for not getting out of bounds on the last play of the game.
After Eli Manning’s third touchdown pass put the Giants in front for good, McAdoo did what he promised before the season: He ran the ball to try to run out the clock. Prescott was 25 of 45 for 227 yards. Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr. were paired for the first time since Beckham blossomed as a star. He turned upfield instead and Dallas couldn’t get another play off.
McAdoo earned the game ball for his efforts on Sunday with his first career coaching win, which he “gave to our equipment guys”.
Regardless of how it may seem, all hope is far from lost in Dallas. He probably won’t be back until mid-October at the earliest.
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Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott drove the Cowboys all the way to their own 46-yard line before completing a pass to wide receiver Terence Williams with 10 seconds remaining. The catch that wasn’t in Green Bay in the playoffs two seasons ago will apparently live forever.
