ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 35-17 in the regular season opener. There were high expectations surrounding the Cowboys’ team coming into the 2019 season with the depth and talent on the roster. Today, Dallas met expectations if not exceeded them.
The Cowboys did not have a good first two possessions, but from that point on, the team took control of the ballgame. After Dak Prescott’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Blake Jarwin on the second drive, the momentum shifted and the Giants never regained it.
Prescott had great accuracy throwing the ball downfield.
He threw two back-to-back bombs to Michael Gallup in the second quarter to set up the 21-yard pass to Amari Cooper in the corner of the end zone.
Dak threw a 45-yard rocket to Amari Cooper in the third to set up the 25-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb- his first as a Dallas Cowboy in his debut game.
The best for last. Prescott connected with Gallup again on a 62-yard pass to set up Ezekiel Elliott’s 10-yard TD rush.
I spoke with Jason Garrett following the game on Dak’s downfield accuracy and how it has developed. He stated, ““I really do believe accuracy is something that you can improve upon over the course of you career. I think some of that comes from working technically, whether it’s your footwork or your delivery, all of that. But some of it just comes from playing in games and being in those situations – being able to get back in a fundamentally sound position over and over again when you’re under duress. I thought he did that tonight, really throughout the ball game. Protection was outstanding and it was just a good mix. We got different guys involved. He was seeing the defense well, throwing it to the right guys and he had command of the offense.”
Dak finished the game 25 of 32 for 405 yards and four touchdowns. He joins Tony Romo as the only quarterbacks in Cowboys’ history with 400 passing yards and four TD’s in a game. The fourth year QB did a great job reading the defense and moving the chains with his spot on throws.
Gallup led the team in receiving yards with seven receptions for 158 yards and an average of 22.6 yards after the catch. He has proven his ability as a deep threat time and time again. He looked extremely comfortable out on the field and was Prescott’s go-to-target downfield.
“ It think it’s great,” Gallup told me after the game on his chemistry with Dak. “ We went seven for seven but you know, it was a good day all around for everybody. We bounced back today.”
That it was. The offense looked more aggressive and diverse than it has in years due to the innovation of new play caller, Kellen Moore. He used a variety of different looks to rattle the Giants’ defense. He used play action, stacked formations, and lined up receivers, tight ends, and running backs in multiple places-inside in the slot and wide. The Cowboys are a team that has built their identity in running the football but today, the offense proved the passing game is rock solid and perfectly capable of carrying the game. Zeke had only 53 rushing yards, with Amari Cooper (106) and Michael Gallup (158) having over 100 receiving yards. Moore got everyone involved and forced the Giants to become one-dimensional towards the end of the ballgame. The Cowboys offense is dangerous and it is just getting started.
