Blogging The Boys
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...
