Dak Makes Statement in Commanding Win Over Big Blue
Dak Makes Statement in Commanding Win Over Big Blue
This Sunday, the NFL kicked off Week 1 (besides Thursday) for the 100th time. A new year for new opportunities, and possibly new contracts, which is what Dak Prescott, QB for the Dallas Cowboys, is looking for. On Sunday, Prescott and crew led Dallas to a dominating 35-17 win over the New York Giants. Let’s dig deep into the outcome of this game.
Dominating the Air
With the long holdout, it was expected that Ezekiel Elliott was going to be limited, but that did not stop Dallas. Zeke only ran the ball 13 times but was still efficient and even found the endzone. The story of the Dallas offense in this game was the passing game. Prescott lit up the G-Men, going 25-32 with 405 yards and 4 touchdowns, earning himself a perfect passer rating (158.3). 405 yards is the most passing yards by a quarterback on opening day in Dallas Cowboy history. Prescott spread the wealth well, connecting with 7 different players. Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper led the way with a combined 13 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown (Cooper). Randall Cobb, Jason Witten, and Blake Jarwin joined the party by scoring a touchdown each.
Bend Don’t Break
The Cowboys defense is coming off a dominant year and performed well in the first game of the new campaign. While the Giants did move the ball well against them, totaling 470 yards, the young bloods of Dallas forced New York to go 2-11 on third down and 1-3 on 4th down. America’s Team also forced two fumbles (Woods, Vander Esch) to get Dallas back the ball. Expect this defense to keep growing as this season goes on with the young players growing into the players they are capable of being.
Bright Spot
Despite the lackluster performance by the Giants, running back Saquon Barkley picked up right where he left off from last year. Barkley was hard to bring down in this game, rushing for 120 yards on only 11 carries, breaking out for an impressive 59 yard run early in the game. Eli Manning and Evan Engram also played well in this game. Eli threw for 306 yards and a touchdown that was caught by Engram, who also totaled 116 yards in the opener. Besides this trio, the Giants looked awful, and many questions will start being raised very soon if their play does not get better fast.
Looking Ahead
Fast-forwarding to Week 2, the Giants will be squaring off against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife. The Bills are 1-0, coming off an impressive comeback victory over the New York Jets, winning 17-16 with little time left in the fourth quarter. As for the Cowboys, they will turn around and have another divisional task on hand, traveling to FedEx Field to take on Case Keenum and the Washington Redskins. Washington hung around against the Eagles in Week 1, but Philly clearly looked like the better team. Will Dallas play to their potential and take care of business? Also, how bad does it have to get for Daniel Jones to get his opportunity at a starting job? It’s too early to tell, but the Cowboys and the Giants are going in very different directions.
Written by: Richie Dordas
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