Cowboys-Giants Gameday Running Blog
September 20, 2009
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New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Welcome to the Cowboys-Giants Gameday Running Blog! I came up with a pretty good format last season, and I’m sticking with it this season. I will be posting at regular intervals. There will be a pregame post with my thoughts running up to the game, followed by updates after each quarter in which I’ll tally up some stats and post them along with my thoughts. Let’s get started after the jump!
Pregame Wrap-up
The Cowboys first regular season game at home in the new North Texas Football Cathedral, a.k.a. Cowboys Stadium, looks to be a barn-burner. These teams know each other well and the outcome is always in question when these two meet. Dallas naturally wants to win their inaugural game in their new monument to excess, and the Giants naturally want to take that pleasure away from their arch-rivals. This one could go either way, fellas…
First Quarter In-Game Updates
- GAWD this stadium looks incredible!
- Chris Canty is out and the Giants are banged up.
- A field goal, and the first points in Cowboys Stadium are scored by the hated Giants.
- They just showed a shot of President Bush (the latter), John Madden and Roger Goodell all sitting in the same suite.
- Fantastic plays by Barber and Bennett! Touchdown Barber!
- Giants intercept Romo and return it for a touchdown.
First Quarter Wrap-up
The Cowboys won the toss and took the opening kickoff, with Felix Jones returning the ball to the 22. Dallas came out and ran Barber up the gut a couple times, but couldn’t convert on first down. The cameras now have to follow the path of the punt when in Cowboys Stadium, so the refs can have replay material.
The Giants came out and immediately connected on a 32 yard pass to Steve Smith, followed by another first down toss to Hixon. The Giants looked to be firing on all cylinders, but Jay Ratliff took some air out with a tackle of the big man Brandon Jacobs in the backfield. The Giants kept airing it out, though, with yet another toss to Smith for a 26 yard gain. With the G-men inside the red zone, Orlando Scandrick made a great play on the ball, knocking it down at the goal line on first down. Not to be outdone, Mike Jenkins did the same thing on third down, keeping New York to a field goal, and the first points to be scored in Cowboys Stadium were scored by the Giants.
Felix Jones had a good run back on the ensuing kickoff, returning it to the 37. The ‘Boys had two successful conversions on third down, followed by a great run for 27 yards by Barber, followed by an 11 yard catch by Bennett in which he wrestled for the first down. Barber finished up the drive up the middle for a touchdown from the two. 3 – 7 Cowboys.
The Cowboys defense started to get in gear and forced a 3 and out during a series in which Hixon had to be taken to the locker room, leaving the Giants a man down. It did Dallas little good, because Romo was intercepted on the next series and the Giants returned it for a touchdown. 10 – 7 New York. To make matters worse, Felix Jones fumbled the ball on the kickoff and the Giants recovered. These failures by the offense and special teams left it up to the defense. The first quarter came to an end with the Giants threatening at the Dallas 5 yard line.
Second Quarter In-Game Updates
- Field Goal Giants, 13 – 7 New York
- Crayton is down, Cowboys are at the NY 2
- Touchdown Witten, 13 – 14 Cowboys
- Touchdown Giants, 20 – 14 Cowboys
First Half Wrap-up
To start things off, the Giants were stuffed for a 7 yard loss. The defense forced an incompletion on third down, holding the Giants to another field goal. 13 – 7 New York.
Miles Austin caught a nice pass, also drawing a personal foul for a total yard gain of 35 yards. They followed up with a reverse to Patrick Crayton, who ran the ball all the way to the 2 yard line. Bad news, though, as Crayton stayed down after what looked like a late hit out of bounds. After Barber got stuffed a couple of times, Romo fired a bullet to Witten for a TD. 13 – 14 Cowboys.
The Giants were forced to punt on the next drive, but they managed to pin the Cowboys at their own 1 yard line. The Giants barely saved themselves from a 99 yard touchdown by Felix Jones, but they did, so the Cowboys went 3 and out. At the two minute warning, the Cowboys forced a fourth down. The Cowboys would start this two minute drill at the 12 yard line.
Flozell Adams would nullify a 36 yard catch by Crayton with a tripping penalty that would take Justin Tuck out. Roy Williams recovered to catch a pass for 18 yards and a first down. Witten decided to play hackey-sack with the ball after missing a pass, and the ball would be recovered in the air by the Giants for an interception. A return for a touchdown was nullified because the play was blown dead.
The Giants converted the opportunity and scored a touchdown with 46 seconds left in the half. The Cowboys were able to drive into field goal range and put another 3 points on the board before halftime, making it a one-touchdown game again. 20 – 17 Giants.
Halftime Stats:
Romo: 10 of 19 for 103 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT
Barber: 10 carries for 46 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions for 31 yards
Jones: 2 carries for 4 yards
Choice: 2 carries for 8 yards, 1 catch for 3 yards
Witten has 4 catches for 20 yards, Austin has 1 catch for 20 and Williams has 1 catch for 18 yards.
Manning: 11 of 18 for 149 yards and 1 TD
Smith: 5 catches for 81 yards, 1 TD
Manningham: 5 catches for 55 yards
The Cowboys have 181 total yards, the Giants have 161.
Third Quarter In-Game Updates
- Hixon and Tuck are still out to start the second half.
- Giants missed a 29 yard field goal.
- Romo scores on a QB Keeper!
Third Quarter Wrap-up
Brandon Jacobs kicked off the second half with a monster 31 yard run, with Spencer getting hurt in the process. The Giants drove again and were once again held to a field goal, but the easy 29 yarder was NO GOOD. The Cowboys were not able to convert on the opportunity, though, punting on the next possession. The Giants got some good luck with a couple of iffy penalties on the Cowboys, but the were forced to punt, themselves.
Next drive, Felix Jones broke free for a 56 yard monster run to the Giants 27. Barber took it next, gaining 10 more yards for the first down. Then he reloaded and did it AGAIN, getting forced out at the 2. Three plays later, Romo kept it and ran it in for a touchdown. 20 – 24 Cowboys.
The defense was able to hold and force a punt on the Giants next drive, and the punt went out of bounds, giving the Cowboys good field position at the 43, but again it didn’t matter because Romo threw an easy interception on a long bomb intended for Hurd.
The Giants took the ball and threw an immediate 49 yard pass to close out the quarter
Fourth Quarter In-Game Updates
- TD Giants, 27 – 24 NY
- Field Goal Giants, 30 – 24 NY
- Barber had a big run, but it looked like he pulled something on the play. He went out and Felix Jones punched it in for the TD. 30 – 31 Cowboys.
Fourth Quarter Wrap-up
OK, so I made a huge mistake. While posting an in-game update, I accidentally wiped out the first part of my fourth quarter wrap-up. The quarter started out looking like the Dallas D would force another field goal, but Smith reeled in a TD to quash that notion. The Cowboys would go 3 and out, giving the Giants an opportunity to go downfield again. This time the Giants were forced to kick a field goal.
After that, the Cowboys would march downfield and score on a Felix Jones run after Marion Barber took a dive on a play. It looked like he pulled a hammy or a ligament, so let’s hope for the best. The crawl said it is a left quad strain and Barber is done for the night.
Unfortunately for all, the Giants were once again able to pull into field goal range, and the Giants locked in the win, 33 – 31.
Halftime Stats:
Romo: 13 of 29 for 103 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT
Barber: 18 carries for 124 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions for 31 yards
Jones: 7 carries for 96 yards
Choice: 2 carries for 8 yards, 1 catch for 3 yards
Witten had 5 catches for33 yards and 1 TD, Austin had 1 catch for 20 and Williams had 1 catch for 18 yards.
Manning: 25 of 38 for 330 yards and 2 TD
Smith: 10 catches for 134 yards, 1 TD
Manningham: 10 catches for 150 yards, 1 TD
The Cowboys had 378 total yards, the Giants had 427
Final Score
Giants 33 – Cowboys 31
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