Cowboys beat Giants 40-0, intercepting QB Daniel Jones twice as disgusted New York fans retreat from rainy MetLife Stadium at halftime, fueling Dallas Super Bowl chatter
- Giants fans left at halftime with the Cowboys leading 26-0
- Giants QB Daniel Jones was intercepted twice and sacked a whopping seven times!
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The first Sunday Night Football game of the season served as a warning to the rest of all the other 30 teams in the NFL: the Dallas Cowboys are Super Bowl contenders, while the New York Giants are still in neutral.
On a rainy evening at East Rutherford, New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the Cowboys dismantled the Giants 40-0, intercepting Daniel Jones twice and sacking the Giants quarterback a whopping seven times.
Things got so bad by halftime, with Dallas leading 26-0 on the road, that many Giants fans headed to the parking lot for the long trip back home.
The victory was strikingly similar to Week 1 of the 1995 season, when the Cowboys traveled to the old Giants Stadium to defeat New York, 35–0, en route to the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl victory in January 1996.
“I think it should be pointed out…the last time the Cowboys won the Super Bowl – they beat the Giants in Week 1 on the road at night – 35-0,” Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com previously said on X. known as Twitter. ‘Just sayin.’
Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Giants
New York Giants fans react to a loss to the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife during the third quarter
Daniel Jones threw two interceptions and was sacked six times on Sunday in New Jersey
Some NFL fans and reporters predicted that the Cowboys will be the next Super Bowl champions after their upset win against the Giants. Dallas last won a Super Bowl title in 1996
Others in the media quickly picked up on the Cowboys Super Bowl talk.
“This is why I picked the Cowboys to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl,” SI.com’s Matt Verderame tweeted. “Their defense is ridiculous.”
Both the Giants and Cowboys looked to improve in 2022, finishing with 9-7-1 and 12-5 records, respectively, as both clubs reached the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs.
But despite offseason expectations in New York and Dallas, only one of the two teams started Sunday, despite Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott having a quiet night by his own standards.
The 30-year-old, now in his eighth NFL season with Dallas, didn’t throw any touchdown passes but also wasn’t intercepted in Sunday’s game. He completed 13 of his 14 passes (54.2 percent), including a 49-yard dart pass, for 143 passing yards.
Instead, the Cowboys got a block in the first seven minutes of the game, before Noah Igbinoghene recovered the pigskin and returned it for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas then got a 21-yard field goal from new kicker Brandon Aubrey before DaRon Bland returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown.
Cowboys running back Tony Pollard then completed a two-yard run midway through the second quarter to increase the halftime lead to 26-0.
The halftime shutout margin was the fourth most lopsided in Week 1 for a home team, led only by the Bucs who trailed the Eagles 34-0 in 1988. The others were the Steelers (down 30-0 against the Browns) in 1989 and the Colts (27-0 versus the Rams) in 1954.
The score didn’t get worst for the Giants until after halftime, when Pollard completed a one-yard rush for another touchdown midway through the third. KaVontae Turpin also had a touchdown with 11:31 remaining in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard rush.
More to follow….