Big Blue View
The New York Giants surrendered 432 yards to the Washington Commanders in their Week 1 21-6 loss in Landover, Md. New York will now travel to Dallas for their Week 2 matchup against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.
Dallas receives extended rest, having played on the opening Thursday night, where they lost a close game to the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-20. This Week 2 matchup will be Dallas’ home opener, and the second consecutive divisional road game for the New York Giants.
Dallas is 9-1 since 2020 against the New York Giants, who have not defeated the Cowboys in Dallas since 2016, which was also the last time the Giants swept the Cowboys. New York has one win against Dallas since 2016 — ONE! And that one win came against Andy Dalton, not Dak Prescott. Suffice to say, and I hate to admit it, but Dak Prescott owns the New York Giants.
Since Brian Daboll was hired as head coach in 2022, the Cowboys have outscored the Giants 187-88. The Giants managed to score just six points in Week 1 vs. the Commanders, and the offense remained hapless.
The defense, however, was outcoached significantly by Kliff Kingsbury. Attempting to defend Jayden Daniels is a difficult task for many reasons, as the Giants found out for the third time in the Shane Bowen era.
The Giants’ defense had some bright spots where they were able to get Daniels off the field, but as the young quarterback stated after the game, Washington was sloppy. The Commanders dropped multiple third-down passes, committed 12 penalties for 89 yards, and Daniels’ decision to throw it out of the back of the end zone at the end of the first half took points off the board for the Commanders.
Washington was helping the Giants’ defense make the game competitive, but the Giants’ offense could not pick up their end of the couch.
The problems that we feared all offseason manifested in Week 1 against the Commanders. The Giants struggled to fit the run, especially from two-high defenses. Washington rushed for 220 yards on the ground with a 6.9-yard per carry average. Deebo Samuel had a beautiful end-around touchdown for 19 yards, and rookie seventh-rounder Bill Croskey-Merrit had 10 rushes for 82 yards with a touchdown (8.2 yards per carry).
The spine of the Giants’ defense remained weak against Washington — will it stay weak against Dallas? I fear it will, although Daniels’ ability to force backside defenders to remain honest through the mesh point proved burdensome, as Kingsbury and Washington devised several creative running plays to manipulate the Giants’ defense.
Dallas won’t enjoy the same luxury with Prescott, who lacks Daniels’ rushing threat. Still, the Cowboys’ offensive line can bully New York up front, and their Week 1 ground game showed plenty of variety. However, what Prescott can do with his arm and his mind should strike fear in the Giants.
And, similar to Week 2 last year against Washington, the Giants...
