Does it get any sweeter than this (as far as September NFL games go)?
Dallas Cowboys. New York Giants. Opening night for the new Cowboys Stadium- a 1.12 billion dollar, 100,000+ seat spectacle. Jerry Jones, beaming with pride (and dollar signs). Tony Romo, forgetting how to throw a football. A back-and-forth seesaw battle in front of the country with THE VISITORS coming away victorious, while the home team is left in shambles.
Yes, a beauty indeed.
That being said, the Giants did not come away unscathed, and they have plenty of work to do between now and their matchup in Tampa on Sunday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
*+4 in Turnovers: Enough said.
*Manning to Manningham (and Smith): Mario Manningham had his coming out party Sunday night. Leading up to last night, Mario only had 7 career receptions. Last night, he had 10, for 150 yards and a TD.
Giants fans know what Steve Smith can do, but he solidified his stance as Eli's #1 go-to guy. SS had 10 catches for 134 yards and a TD. Cris Collinsworth (actually) praised Smith for being one of the best route-runners he's ever seen. Coming from that Giants hater, that's huge!
*Eli (in the last couple minutes): Is there anybody else in the league you would rather have in the 2- minute drill than Eli Manning? The Giants seriously should consider going no huddle throughout the whole game. Ok ok, I know that's not really possible, but Eli does best when he just lets his instincts take over. When he, um, thinks, that's when he gets into trouble.
*Offensive Line: While they didn't create many holes to get the run game going, they gave Eli plenty of time to throw the football and make smart, clean decisions.
*Lawrence Tynes: He certainly earned his paycheck last night. Kudos to him for not getting rattled and making the game-winning kick (again) after the Cowboys questionable, to-the-millisecond timeout.
*Kenny Phillips: Not only did he lead the team with seven tackles (along with Michael Boley), he picked off Romo twice, including the heads-up play where he caught the pass that bounced off of Jason Witten's foot.
LOWLIGHTS:
*Red Zone Offense: Seriously, the Giants should have put up double the points last night. But for whatever reason, we cannot score touchdowns in the freakin red zone! This season, the Giants are 0-8 when inside the other team's 20.
*Run Game: The Cowboys did a very good job in keeping Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw in check.
*Run Defense: The Cowboys ran an inexcusable 251 yards against us. Marion Barber had a monster game, running for 124 yards.
*Lawrence Tynes: He gives me a heart attack every time he lines up to kick- and that includes extra points! He missed a 29-yarder in the third quarter, and his first attempt at the game winner was verrrrrrrry close.
*Injuries: Seeing Justin Tuck on the sideline with his arm in a sling is definitely not a good sight. (Thanks to a cheap play by Flozell Adams). Domenik Hixon also left the game with a sprained left knee.
QUOTES:
Antonio Pierce: “It was the ugliest homecoming (team) they’ve ever asked to come. We appreciate the welcoming. We appreciate the 100,000 people cheering us on. And it was good watching ourselves on TV (on the much-hyped video board).”
Brandon Jacobs: “[This] is the nicest thing [victory] I’ve ever been a part of. The place is loud, the place is very clean, it’s a beautiful place. But this is definitely one of the best games I’ve played as far as coming in and ruining this whole thing for them.”
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