Most New York Giants fans picked their team to win against the Dallas Cowboys, but few outside of the Giants’ fandom actually expected the G-Men to come away with the victory.
In fact, I suspect that most Giants’ fans hoped for a win, but were prepared for a hard-fought loss. Few were really expecting the Giants to come out and simply out-play the Cowboys from whistle to whistle.
And so that brings us to this week’s question: What surprised you the most in the Giants’ win over the Cowboys?
A) Jaxson
Dart’s precision as a passer? He was downright surgical in picking apart Christian Parker’s defense, playing on time and in rhythm. Dart was fun as a rookie, but he needed to do a lot of work on playing within the structure of the offense. Against Dallas, Dart had great footwork, was seeing the defense well, marrying his eyes and feet to the tempo of the route concepts, and delivering the ball with great placement. His improved footwork also elevated his arm as he was routinely driving the ball outside the numbers as well as layering it with great touch.
B) How well the Nagy-Callahan-Roman offense worked?
John Harbaugh’s decision to hire these three men was looked at with derision and confusion from the media at large as well as the Giants’ own fanbase. We had no clue what the offense would look like, or how well it could function. We didn’t know if the three would reinforce each other’s weaknesses or if it would blow up in the Giants’ faces. As it turns out, the play-calling was generally excellent and the Giants used a variety of looks, alignments, and play designs that let them do what they wanted against the Cowboys.
C) The run defense holding Dallas to 69 yards rushing.
Most fans — and much of the media — were somewhere between “anxious” and “panicking” over the state of the Giants’ run defense after the preseason. It was widely predicted that the Giants would get runover by Dallas’ offense and that they’d be gashed on the ground. Instead, the Giants’ new-look defense held up against the Cowboys’ rushing attack and limited them to just 69 yards on the ground and held Javonte Williams to 3.4 yards per carry.
D) Holding CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to 72 total yards.
Like the run defense, many fans and writers were worried (to say the least) about the Giants’ secondary. This was about as tough a test as you could imagine (short of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins) to start the season for two new starting corners in a new defensive scheme. There were predictions that both would eclipse 100 yards receiving, but instead they fell short combined. The Giants weren’t able to take them out of the game completely, but they contained Lamb and Perkins and prevented Dak Prescott from generating the explosive plays upon which the Dallas offense thrives.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Giants fans and fans across the country.
