Coming into Sunday, veteran quarterback Russell Wilson had not thrown for 450 yards in a game since week eight of the 2017 season. He had not completed at least 73% of his passes since 2020, and he had not thrown three touchdowns in a game since 2019. In a true turn back the clock game, Wilson did all of these things on Sunday against the Cowboys in a game that came down to the last four seconds of overtime, yet it was Cowboys QB Dak Prescott that made one more winning play and prevailed in a classic game between 0-1 division rivals. It was Prescott’s 14th straight win against the Giants, the ninth in a row for the team, and also Dak’s first home win since week 17 of 2023 – dropping back 52 times to get it and setting up the winning FG with his legs.
The Cowboys 40-37 overtime win marked the most points scored between these teams since the season opener in 2007, when Tony Romo and Eli Manning dueled to a 45-35 Dallas win at home. Just like Manning vs. Romo had it’s own significance in making Cowboys vs. Giants rivalry games great because of the QB matchup, Prescott vs. Wilson was at one time a battle amongst the top spots in the NFC. While that was much earlier in both passers’ careers, the week two winner from AT&T Stadium this time around could still stake a claim to being a division contender, and the Cowboys found a way to do just that by improving to 1-1, sending the Giants to 0-2, and getting head coach Brian Schottenheimer his first career victory.
Wilson remaining the Giants’ starting quarterback for week two added legitimacy to the road team’s chances in this one, but the way the QB situation already felt uncertain in New York helped all signs point to the Cowboys continuing their dominance of the series at home. Wilson had beaten the Cowboys in his last five starts against them. By letting Prescott be himself and trusting their defense to get some stops against Wilson, the Cowboys seemingly had a path to make one of their rare early kickoff games an afternoon walk in the park. The problem was, the Cowboys let Wilson throw two long fourth-quarter touchdowns that gave his team the lead on two separate occasions, the latter with just 33 seconds to play. Counting the eventual game winner in overtime by Brandon Aubrey, this game featured a bonkers seven lead changes, with Dallas not grabbing the lead at any point until Javonte Williams’ 30-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
It was a roller coaster ride few fans of either team expected, and perhaps even the NFL when it comes to how many NFC East primetime games are scheduled this season – week two in Arlington not among them. That didn’t stop this game from becoming an instant classic, and one that already holds significance for the directions both these teams are going in 2025.
Let’s get to a few of our games notes from the Cowboys’ first win!
The importance of playing every matchup on a week-to-week basis in this league was on full display from start to finish in this marathon of a game. For the Cowboys, one of the things they had going for them coming in was the perceived confidence they played with against the defending champion Eagles in week one. That confidence may have been the reason they flirted with disaster all afternoon, though. When it comes to which team executed more of the keys needed to victory, the Giants really did leave it all on the field. Unfortunately for them, they also committed 14 penalties for 160 yards and went one-for-five scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
It was supposed to be the Cowboys channeling their week one confidence in this game, but the bigger theme was easily desperation by the Brian Daboll led Giants. Looking for his first ever head coaching win against the Cowboys, and to avoid his second straight 0-2 start, Daboll’s team rose to this desperation and had a solid game plan. They played with the lead early, and never trailed by more than four, allowing the strength of their defense, which is pass rush, to make an impact all day. The WR corps pitched with Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Wan’Dale Robinson all getting a catch of over 40 yards in this game. Wilson throwing his vintage ‘moon ball’ deep shots over the top was no match for the zone defense of Matt Eberflus, which exposed the Cowboys corners and safeties group as a whole in coverage.
The Giants’ spread approach may have hurt them in pass protection against Dan Quinn’s defense in week one, but it helped them get the ball out quickly and limit the Cowboys’ ability to get aggressive with pressures, and led to Wilson picking them apart deep to nearly win the game in regulation.
Since the Cowboys came out on top in the end, they are the victors worthy of praise in a league where any win is hard to come by, and correcting these mistakes against the Giants can come without the need for pointing fingers at a disastrous 0-2. With that said, if executing the prepared game plan was the best thing the Cowboys did against the Eagles, with adjustments that went a long way as well, week two taught us a different perspective on this new coaching staff, with this win being all about those adjustments. The Cowboys got punched in the mouth in the early, mid, and late rounds of this fight, but were still standing with a chance when they had the ball down three with 25 seconds left, and executed a flawless 64-yard field goal from Aubrey to tie it. The sequence was reminiscent of the end of the half scenario the Cowboys had in week one, also ending on a much easier Aubrey field goal.
Somehow, someway, they also had a chance after the Giants possessed the ball twice in overtime. This time with two minutes to play, the Cowboys were able to set up Aubrey perfectly for the game-winning field goal with no time left. For a team who’s mental focus and competitive edge was questioned so heavily and so often just one season ago under Mike McCarthy, major credit should be given towards Schottenheimer for instilling a new culture and navigating the emotions of this rivalry for the first time to win at home. This was the best fight the Giants took to the Cowboys in years, and it still didn’t matter in the end result.
Just getting a first down was tough sledding for the Cowboys offense early in this game, as they went three and out on their first two possessions. Their best chance to sustain a drive may have come on their second chance with the ball, after running Javonte Williams for a nonchalant three-yard gain on first down. Right tackle Terence Steele missed a block on the second-down passing play though, leading to a dump off throw to Jake Ferguson for no gain. Prescott was sacked on third-and-seven by Brian Burns, and Dallas was forced to punt giving New York their first chance to take a two-score lead already up 6-0. The defense got the ball back to Prescott and the offense quickly, but yet another third-down sack on the next drive held them to a field goal and made the score 6-3. It’s hard to believe this game was just 13-10 at halftime, but the Giants chewing up the first 8:49 of game time on their opening drive thanks to four penalties on the left tackle but still settling for a field goal went a long way here.
The Cowboys zone defense getting shredded for big plays is sure to be one of the biggest talking points leading into next week, where Eberflus will now face his former team the Bears coached by the offensive-minded Ben Johnson. Zone is still the best way to not let specific defenders get picked on in coverage. Dallas was looking to avoid this with Reddy Stewart filling in at cornerback and Jack Sanborn being asked to play a lot of coverage reps from linebacker, but it was clearly ineffective. Both Sanborn and Stewart could not contain Robinson on a 25-yard catch in the second quarter down the seam. One play later, Nabers got behind Diggs (something he did throughout the game) and caught a 29-yard touchdown to put New York up 13-3.
The effectiveness of both quarterbacks in this game had a lot to do with the way their play-callers set them up for success, and the ease at which the Giants were able to take the top off the Cowboys defense was alarming. Schotty and the Cowboys passing game did not do nearly as good of a job simplifying things for Prescott and creating the types of big plays they’re accustomed to against the Giants, but did pick and choose their moments of brilliance at the right times to get the scores they needed to eventually force overtime.
KaVontae Turpin’s free play touchdown on third down was possibly the best example of this, as the Cowboys relied on Turpin’s speed to win a simple in-breaking route, create separation, and hang onto a dart of a throw from Prescott between defenders. The fact the Cowboys offense got away from this simplicity in winning routes vertically and threw the ball behind, at, or near the line of scrimmage as much as they did was surprising. Even CeeDee Lamb struggled to get across the face of Andru Phillips on the first drive of the second half, running a deep crossing route that Phillips stayed in phase with and intercepted. When the Cowboys got back to just letting their best players win matchups, they made the winning plays, which also included George Pickens’ first Cowboys touchdown on a quick out route in the final minute of regulation.
When it came to ways that Russell Wilson turned back the clock in this game, the Cowboys defense can be thankful it was just with his arm and not so much the legs. The Cowboys did not get to bring the edge pressures they used against Jalen Hurts last week often in this game, taking their chances containing Wilson in the pocket, but when they did it also worked against them. Damone Clark and Reddy Stewart came on a blitz with the Giants driving with less than a minute remaining, and it did not get home. Instead, it opened up the rushing lane for Wilson to scramble for 15 yards into Dallas territory. Just one play later, the bomb to Nabers gave the Giants a late lead that looked poised to give them an upset. The Cowboys interior push was solid in this game, led by Solomon Thomas yet again, but their inability to win matchups on the edge is becoming more and more noticeable. The Cowboys defense is having to work exceptionally hard to put offenses behind the sticks due to this lack of pass rush, but when they do the results they want follow. After Kenneth Murray sniffed out a screen pass in overtime on first down and made the stop for a loss of three, Donovan Wilson came up with an interception on the very next play that all but ended the Giants’ hopes of winning this game outright. Nabers had gotten behind Kaiir Elam with ease once again, but Wilson was in position to defend the vertical route while Nabers ran a corner, leaving the Cowboys veteran safety as the only one in position to intercept the floating pass from Wilson.
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