Dallas Cowboys dominate New York Giants in season opener, 24 -17 – NFL Recap
New York Giants did not get a good start to the new season in which they are defending their National Football League (NFL) title, as the Giants’ National Football Conference (NFC) East rivals Dallas Cowboys defeated them, 24-17, at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday September 05, 2012.
The game, which also marked the beginning of the 2012 NFL season, started on a low note as both teams struggled to score in the first quarter. However, both teams started finding their rhythm as the game progressed.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was exceptional in the game and if he maintains his form while further improving his accuracy throughout the season, he is certainly up for giving tough times to the defensive units in the league.
Romo completed 22 passes of 29 attempts for 307 yards while scoring three touchdowns. He also sent an interception, but his overall performance was commendable as he received quarterback rating of 129.5.
Unlike the 2011 season, the Cowboys were able to make a winning start to the season and Romo was also pleased to play his role. He said of the game:
“Certain things were different. We executed on offence and defence when we needed to, and put them in a hole.”
Meanwhile, Giants quarterback Eli Manning also played a good game, but the Cowboys just managed to outscore the Giants. Manning completed 21 passes of 32 attempts for 213 yards. He scored one touchdown and received quarterback rating of 94.9.
The entire game stayed in the Cowboys grip till the end. After the scoreless first quarter, Giants did manage to take the lead by scoring a field goal in the second quarter, but Romo connected with Kevin Ogletree towards the end of the quarter to steal the lead.
After taking a snap, Romo waited to find his receivers. The Giants defence was heading towards the Cowboys quarterback who surprisingly decided to rush and later lobbed the ball in the air into the hands of Ogletree who was already present in the end zone.
Romo connected with Ogletree again in the third quarter, this time for a 40-yard touchdown pass, as the Cowboys exposed the Giants defence to stretch their lead.
The Giants later scored a touchdown, but the Cowboys successfully maintained their lead as they also got a field goal at the end of the quarter.
The final quarter saw Romo scoring his third touchdown while Manning also finally got his first touchdown of the game in the quarter.
The Giants game-play was marred by fumbles, weak defence and the offence’s failure to capitalise on many opportunities. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said of the game:
“Very disappointing, very disappointing loss. Any way you want to look at it. We fumble the ball after a nice drive that possibly could have been points, we don’t score from the one-yard line. We give up big plays in the second half. We don’t really stop the run, they had all kinds of yardage, we had little or none.”
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