On Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 36-31 at home in Dallas, Texas. Dallas Quarterback Tony Romo threw for 263 yards and 2 touchdown passes in the win. Both of his touchdown passes were caught by Tight End Jason Witten, who also had a big night for the team with eight receptions for 70 yards. The ground game was working for the Cowboys as well. Running Back DeMarco Murray ran for 86 yards on 20 carries in the game. Although the Cowboys’ offense was effective, the real game changer was the Dallas defense. They forced six turnovers by the Giants’ offense, scoring two defensive touchdowns in the process.
Even while turning the ball over multiple times, the Giants continued to keep the score close towards the end of the game. In the third quarter the Giants were down 27-10, but managed to cut the deficit to six points towards the end of the fourth quarter. Trailing 30-24, the Giants’ offense took the field with less than 5 minutes left to play in the ball game. They needed a touchdown to give themselves the lead, but the turnovers continued to haunt this team. As Giants’ Quarterback Eli Manning tries to dish off the ball on a simple screen play, the ball is tipped up into the air and into the arms of Cowboys’ Cornerback Brandon Carr who runs the interception back 49 yards for a game clenching Dallas touchdown. The Giants never gave up and even scored another passing touchdown before the end of the game, reducing the deficit to just six. New York then desperately tries to recover an onside kick with just seconds left on the clock, but the kick is recovered by a Dallas player.
The Giants know that the excessive turnovers killed them in Week 1, and realize they need to work on this if they hope to win in Week 2. As for the Cowboys, if they continue to play like this they will find themselves in the playoff hunt this season.