The Dallas Cowboys faced a New York Giants team that also made numerous changes this offseason. The Giants brought in an entirely new coaching staff, traded away their best player in Dexter Lawrence, and added significant size to fit John Harbaugh's style of play. They looked changed for the better in Week 1.
Dallas changed up their entire defense — coaches and a bunch of starters — but they played as poorly as they did in 2025. The poor play stretched across the entire team, not just the defense. The return team was also awful. KaVontae Turpin had five returns and averaged under 25 yards per return. The starting field position was a problem just like last year.
The offense had a poor start and was undisciplined, with drops and penalties. The momentum
in the game swung after a drop and then an interception. The defense was consistently getting beat by the same concepts and pushed around and trucked over in the run game, and the special teams unit even missed an extra point from 48 yards after a 15-yard taunting penalty.
A poor performance in Week 1 is the overall theme, but what specifically can be pulled from their opening night loss to the Giants?
Poor starts continue
It was a horrific first quarter for Dallas.
It began with a three-and-out and punting on fourth and inches. The Giants then went on anopening drive of 10 plays for 83 yards that lasted over six minutes. Dallas ran the ball for two yards per attempt in the first quarter and allowed 5.8 yards per carry to New York. The score was still 7-7 in the last two minutes of the half when George Pickens dropped a deep ball down the sideline, and Dak Prescott threw an interception the next play.
The Cowboys went from a tie, at worst, at halftime to being down a touchdown, with the Giants getting the ball to start the second half. They also committed seven penalties, their most since 2008. The Cowboys might need a playmaker like Maxx Crosby to add to this defense for it to be turned around.
The Dallas defense did almost nothing well in Week 1.
Their EPA per play was the worst of any defense, ranking 571st out of 574 all-time games recorded. The Cowboys allowed New York to convert nine times on 10 third-down attempts (+ a kneel down). The Giants were a perfect four-for-four in the red zone. The pass rush was poor, achieving only two pressures on 20 four-person pass rush attempts. New York had three scoring drives of double-digit plays and went on a 12-play drive to close out the victory. Their shortest drive went for a six-play touchdown—an abysmal start for new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
ROI? Our Oh My: The capital put into the run defense didn’t provide dividends
The Cowboys' defense was poor overall, but their rushing defense was demoralizing. The team made moves to beef up the defensive line by adding Otito Ogbonnia, Jonathan Bullard, Malachi Lawrence, LT Overton, and Rashan Gary to Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. The first game did not give Dallas any return on investment.
New York rushed 37 times for 165 yards and picked up 11 first downs running the ball. The running backs ran for over 110 yards themselves, with their top two options getting 20 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys can’t afford another year of being moved off the ball so easily. The Giants held the ball for over 36 minutes and kept the Dallas offense off the field. They only got the ball twice in the second half and scored touchdowns on both those drives.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: ROI? Our 'Oh My!' What we learned from Cowboys' Week 1 blunders vs NYG
