Giants:20
Cowboys:19
Positives
Red Zone
The Giants were 3-3 in the red zone which is a massive improvement from last year. The ability to run the ball in the red zone was the difference.
Victor Cruz
After 700 days of no football Victor Cruz was the difference in this game. He came down with the game winning touchdown, and he ended the game with 4 catches and a touchdown. Oh and let’s not forget the SALSA!!!
Defense
The whole defense played well. Holding Dallas to under 4.0 ypc is a huge accomplishment. Damon Harrison And Oliver Vernon were both forces in the run game. Jpp made plays and flew around the field looking more and more like his old self. The secondary is really the big story here though. They held top flight WR Dez Bryant to 1 catch and 8 yards on 5 targets. The defense wouldn’t even allow Dak Prescott to look his way. Who also deserves credit for how he played he truly did not look like a rookie. This defense has potential and just held the Cowboys high octane offense to under 20 points.
Negatives
Offense
Yes the Giants did end up winning the game, but the offense did a lot to almost let that slip away. There were times during the game where it felt like the same Giants from last year. Not able to sustain drives to keep the opponent off the field. The way the defense played the offense should’ve had more points. Eli’s box score looks better than he did in game which may be expected after barely playing this preseason, he will get it together though. Overall the offense did not play bad but once again they leave something to be desired. The Giants offense needs to be more consistent. There were too many opportunities for the offense not to have run away with that game.
Larry Donnell
He once again showed that he is incapable of playing a full 60 minutes. Donnell scored a touchdown early only to almost blow the game late. Donnell was called for a penalty late in the 4th quarter for illegal formation. I truly hope he can bring it all together, but I fear Larry Donnell is who we think he is.
JT Thomas
The Giants came out of this game healthy outside of the loss of outside backer JT Thomas. He is well liked in the locker room, and just took a recent pay cut to stay with the Giants. It is a shame to see a great guy like him go down with a strained knee.
Overall
The Giants played a good game as they took the W. There is a lot of work for Ben McAdoo to do for this team to be a contender in the playoffs, but the first game looked promising. The big thing here is the health of the Giants going into week 2 vs the Saints. The Giants came out of this game relatively unscathed which is huge for them as the depth is not a strength of this team. The Offense looked Ok and will only get more proficient as the season goes along. Look for the Giants offense to shred the Saints porous secondary next week. The defense showed they can hold up for 60 minutes, but they have a tough test ahead against the high flying Saints offense.
Giants Vs Cowboys Highlights
