Cowboys defeat Giants

By Elwyn Henderson

The Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in their 2025 home opener. Both teams entered the game at 0-1 but both teams were very competitive in their season openers. The Giants played good football against the Washington Commanders while Dallas had an impressive showing against the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

As is the case every year both teams had many changes with new players and the biggest change for the Giants was their acquisition of Russell Williams who became their starting quarterback for 2025.

The game was close throughout with Dallas coming out on top by the score of 40-37 in overtime in front of 92,781 fans.

The contest began with New York receiving the opening kickoff after Dallas won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half.

Gunner Olszewski returned the kick down to the Cowboys 32 but a holding call during the return on the Giants pushed the ball back to the 20 where Russell Wilson came out to lead the visitors on offense.

Wilson led the visitors down the field despite 6 separate penalties on his offensive teammates but the Dallas defense stiffened and forced a 38-yard field goal by Graham Gano and New York took an early 3-0 lead. The drive was 16 plays, 60 yards and took 8:49 off the clock.

Jalen Tolbert returned Gano’s kickoff after the score up to the Dallas 32 where Dak Prescott brought his unit on the field for the first time.

It was a quick three-and-out for the Cowboys and Brian Anger punted the ball down to the New York 22 and after an 8-yard return the Giants went back on offense for the second time at their 30.

Wilson led his troops down the field once again but the Dallas defense forced a second Gano field goal, this one 33 yards and the Giants led 6-0 with 1:05 left in opening frame. The drive took 3:42 and was 55 yards.

The ensuing Gano field goal was returned from the 7 up to the 31 by KaVonte Turpin and Prescott led his offense back on the field.

 

 

The second possession was a repeat of the first as the Cowboys went three-and-out again.  Anger’s punt was fair caught at the Giants 19 and Russell Wilson went back to work again. The drive was a short three-and-out and Jamie Gillan kicked the ball down to the Dallas 25 where the Cowboys hit the field hoping they could get the offense going.

Prescott hit Lamb on a pass down to the Giants 38, picking up 34 yards on the play and the home team finally had a spark and some life. Just when it looked like the drive might end in a TD Prescott was dropped for an 8-yard loss on third down forcing a 51-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal with 8:25 left in the first half. The drive was 8 plays, 42 yards and took 3:49, cutting Dallas the deficit to 6-3.

Aubrey’s kickoff following the score was returned from the 6 up to the 30 and the Giants went back on the offensive.

The visitors wasted little time finding the end zone for the first time. It took just 5 plays and 2:48 to move the 70 yards to glory. Wilson hit Malik Nabers from 29 yards out with 5:37 left in the half. Gano’s extra point was good and the Giants took a 13-3 lead.

On their next possession Prescott and the offense got a drive going and it concluded with Prescott hitting Turpin on a 10-yard TD pass with 2:11 left in the first half. Aubrey added the PAT and Dallas closed the gap to 13-10. The drive was 9 plays, 64 yards and took 3:26 off the second quarter clock.

After a 16-yard return of the Aubrey kickoff Wilson came back out hoping to get his team on the scoreboard once again but the defense rose to the occasion and forced another punt. After a holding penalty on the return the ‘Boys set up outside their 20 and hoped to at least tie the score going into the halftime break. They moved the ball up to midfield but the clock ran out and the visitors led 13-10.

Before the Cowboys could get anything going Prescott was intercepted at the Dallas 40 and Wilson was set up in great shape to increase his team’s advantage. Fortunately, facing a 4th down at the Cowboys 10 Brian Daboll chose to go for the first down instead of a field goal and a Wilson pass fell incomplete and Dallas got the ball back.

Aided by a long defensive pass interference call against Dru Phillips, Prescott led his team into the end zone for their second TD of the game. The score came on a 30-yard run up the middle by Williams with 7:20 left in the third quarter. Aubrey added the extra point and Dallas led for the first time, 17-13. The drive was 6 plays, 90 yards and took exactly 3 minutes.

 

 

Wilson and company wasted little time getting back on the board. After returning the Aubrey kickoff to their 33 Wilson hit Darius Slayton on a 52-yard bomb down to the Dallas 15. The defense bent bud didn’t break and forced a 33-yard field goal by Gano with 5:38 left in the quarter, bringing the score to 17-16. The drive was 5 plays, 52 yards and consumed 1:42.

After a holding call on the return the Cowboys set up on their 18 for their next possession. The offense moved down to the Giants 26 and the drive stalled. Aubrey came in and kicked a 44-yard field goal with 14:13 left in the game and Dallas pushed the lead to 20-16. The drive was 11 plays, covered 56 yards and took 6:25 off the third quarter clock.

Thanks to a pass interference on Donovan Wilson deep in Dallas territory the Giants were in position to take the lead and they did just that when Cam Skattebo ran in from the 1 with 12:07 left in the game. Gano added the extra point and the Giants led 23-20. The drive was 4 plays, 60 yards and ran 2:04 off the fourth quarter clock.

On their next possession CeeDee Lamb came to life and made a brilliant catch near midfield and followed that up with another lengthy reception down the left sideline and the Cowboys looked like they were poised to get into the end zone and take the lead back again. They did just that when Miles Sanders ran straight up the middle into the end zone with 6:14 left in the game. Aubrey added the point after and Dallas led 27-23. The drive was a 10-play, 85 yard affair that drained 5:53 off the clock.

New York returned the next kickoff from their 8 to the 37 where Wilson brought his unit back out in hopes of either tying the score or taking the lead. They did just that when Wilson hit Wan’Dale Robinson on a 30-yard TD strike with 2:44 left in the game. Gano’s PAT was good and the Giants went back in front 30-27. The drive took 3:30 and 7 plays.

The Cowboys knew the upcoming possession would most likely be their last of the game and they knew they HAD to find a way to the end zone to win in regulation or get a field goal to most likely force overtime.

The drive began on the Dallas 29 after a Tolbert return. On the first series Prescott completed a 4th and 2 at the Dallas 47 to keep the drive alive. The offense got the job done as Prescott hit George Pickens on a 6-yard TD pass with 52 seconds left in the game. Aubrey’s extra point try was good and Dallas led 34-30. The 71 yard drive took 1:52 and 11 plays.

The kickoff after the TD was returned to the 36 and the visitors got the ball for the final time in regulation, hoping for a miracle to win the game. They did just that as Wilson hit Nabers on a

 

48-yard TD pass with 25 seconds left in the game to go up 36-34. Gano’s extra point was good and Dallas was left with just 25 seconds and 2 timeouts to get into field goal range and send the game into overtime.

After the ensuing kickoff and return the Cowboys set up at their 33 with 19 seconds left in regulation. Prescott moved the team to the Giants 46 where Aubrey came in to attempt a 64-yard field with 5 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Aubrey’s kick was good and the game was tied 37-37 and headed to overtime. The drive was 4 plays, 21 yards and took the final 25 seconds of regulation.

The Giants won the coin toss and elected to kick off to start the overtime 10-minute quarter. Gano’s kick was taken by Sanders at the Dallas 5 and returned to the 29 but a holding call moved the ball back to the 19 and Prescott brought the offense back to the field.

The New York defense forced a punt and after a short return Wilson hit the field with6:36 left in OT at his 14 knowing his team only needed a field goal to get the victory. Fortunately, the Dallas defense caught fire and forced a three-and-out and the Giants punted form their 21. Tolbert fair caught the ball at the Dallas 38 and the Cowboys came out with 4:52 left needing a field goal to get the win.

They moved up to their 43 but were forced to punt the ball back to the Giants. Anger’s kick traveled to the 22 and returned to the 34 and with 2:49 left in OT Russell Wilson got one last shot to get his team a victory on the road.

Donovan Wilson came up with a huge defensive play when he intercepted Russell Wilson at the Dallas 30 at the 2-minute overtime warning and Dallas got one final chance to secure a win.

On the first play of the possession Prescott hit Pickens for a 28-yard gain to the New York 33. After a 4-yard Prescott broke up the middle for a gain down to the New York 28 and Aubrey came in with 4 seconds left in overtime to attempt a 46-yard field goal for the win. The kick was good and the Cowboys advanced their record to 1-1 with the 40-37 win. The drive was 4 plays, 22 yards and took 2 minutes.

According to NFL Communications there were six lead changes in the fourth quarter and overtime which tied for the most in a game in NFL history. Additionally, with Aubrey’s 64-yard field goal to tie the game as regulation play ended and his 46-yard field goal to win the game with no time remaining in overtime, he became the first player ever to convert a game-tying field goal with no time remaining in the fourth quarter and a game-winning field goal with no time remaining in overtime in the same game.

 

An excited and happy Coach Brian Shottenheimer met with the media after the nail-biting win and he was asked what his emotions were after winning his first NFL game as a head coach.

“I was really good coming off the field. And then when Dak presented me, he and Jerry presented me with the game ball that was pretty special for me. Cool way to win your first game. You know, you’ll remember it forever, but the words that Dak and the players said to me after the game is why it’s so special. It’s, I expect the first of many, but I’ll remember this one forever because of the fight in these guys. The way they didn’t quit. They just kept believing. You know, we always say, give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter. I guess we had to go a little longer tonight, but we found a way to do it. And very, very special. But so proud of those young men. You talk about pro football and the ups and downs and the high, lows, and giving up big bombs, and then you got to go back out there, and some of the situational stuff we did was just incredible. What can I say about Brandon Aubrey? I mean, just, you know, four field goals. 51, 44, 64, would have been good from 70. And then the walk off, a 46-yard kick. But yeah, so proud of those young men, the hard work that they’ve done. This is about them, this isn’t about me. It’s about them, and I’m just so blessed to be their head coach.”

When quarterback Dak Prescott went before the media for his postgame presser he was asked what he said to Shottenheimer after the big win.

“I gave him the game ball for his first career win. I told him how much we all appreciate him. Told him that game was the epitome of him and his coaching style, just the resiliency that he has. The way that he carries himself, the way he coaches, [that’s] the standard. At the end of the day, that’s winning and that’s what this game was. Credit to him, we’re behind him. He deserved that first win, a tough one to get and a fun one to get. I know he’ll never forget. I won’t forget it and I know the guys in the locker room won’t forget this one.”

Dallas travels to Chicago next Sunday to take on the 0-2 Bears at Soldier Field in a 3:25 PM.