Giants at Cowboys: Highlights, score and recap

A review of the New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys 2016 NFL Week 1 highlights, score, and game recap.

On Sunday, one of America’s favorite football rivalries helped kick off Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season, with the New York Giants visiting the Dallas Cowboys. As with so many showdowns past, Sunday’s barn-burner did not disappoint.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott looked comfortable for the Cowboys early on, navigating the offense like a seasoned veteran. Prescott’s opening drive was anything but shaky, as the former Mississippi State standout helped lead the team down the field on a 15 play, 70-yard drive. Cole Beasley had a dropped potential touchdown catch, but the team nevertheless took a 3-0 lead behind a Dan Bailey field goal.

The Cowboys would add a second field goal to extend their lead to 6-0, as Dan Bailey tied his career long of 56-yards following a Dallas penalty on the previous attempt.

While the Giants looked slow to start, Eli Manning and Co. woke up in the second. Manning threw a 45-yard pass down the field to Odell Beckham Jr. On the very next play, Manning’s 14-yard pass was hauled in by Larry Donnell for the touchdown, giving the Giants a tenuous 7-6 lead before a pair of field goals sent New York into the locker room up 13-9.

However, the second half saw Dallas reclaim their lead thanks to heralded rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, whom many analysts think will win this year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Elliott got his first touchdown to put his team back ahead before a Bailey field goal extended the lead to six.

Still, the Giants fought back, as Manning continued to pick his spots. He eventually found Victor Cruz for a three-yard touchdown pass to put New York on top 20-19.

Dallas had an exciting final drive to make the game interesting late. However, in an early Bonehead Play of the Year entry, the clock ran out on Prescott and the Cowboys before they could get set up in field goal range.

Highlights

Manning woke up the Giants’ offense in the second quarter with a pair of back-to-back highlight passes. After finding Odell Beckham Jr. on a 45-yard pass, he hit this strike to Larry Donnell for a 14-yard touchdown, giving New York the 7-6 lead.

In the second quarter, Prescott tried for the big pass himself. Dez Bryant seemed like he hauled in a touchdown. However, he didn’t have control of the ball, resulting in the refs reversing their initial call.

Late in the second quarter, Manning was back at it, hitting Victor Cruz for his first regular-season catch in 700 days. Cruz actually had back-to-back catches helping on another key scoring drive for New York.

Moments later, rookie Sterling Shepard made an acrobatic catch in the endzone for the touchdown. The Giants missed the extra point, making it a 13-9 lead for New York.

Ezekiel Elliott finally broke through in the third quarter. The rookie made a nice rush and dive for his first career touchdown, putting the Cowboys ahead 16-13.

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Victor Cruz is back. He made the difference late with the big touchdown on a three-yard pass from Manning. That gave the Giants the lead and Cruz reason to dance.

Dallas had the ball with time running out. They started a charge down the field, but could not get out of bounds to stop the clock. That was all she wrote for the ‘Boys.

Three Stars

1. Eli Manning

The Giants quarterback played excellent in his first game of the season. Despite throwing an interception, he completed 19 of his 28 attempted passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns, making him the clear difference-maker.

2. Odell Beckham Jr.

As always, the wide receiver is a fantasy football stud. He looked on point to start this latest campaign, and while he didn’t manage to get into the endzone, Beckham had several key plays to help set up Giants scoring drives. He finished with 73 total yards including the 45-yard highlight-reel catch.

3. Dak Prescott

The rookie looked solid in the losing effort, keeping his team in the game and led multiple scoring drives comfortably down the field. His debut is marked by a loss only due to mismanagement of the clock by Dallas in the closing seconds. However, Prescott finished with 227 yards on 25-for-45 passing.

Honorable mention goes to Dallas kicker Dan Bailey for keeping his team close throughout.

Odds: The Giants were one-point favorites on the road at Dallas for this Week 1 game. The game was a push based on these odds, unless some bettors were lucky enough to get the game as a pick situation or when Dallas was a one-point favorite.

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Next week

In Week 2, the New York Giants will host the New Orleans Saints next Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET game. The Cowboys will be on the road at the Washington Redskins, also at 1 p.m. ET.