EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Cowboys season opener did not go as they'd hoped, as the Giants muscled past Dallas 28-20 in their first game under new head coach John Harbaugh.
A year after finishing with one of the worst defenses in franchise history, the Cowboys defense struggled against New York's physical and heavy front, with Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer admitting the Giants were the more physical team.
"I thought overall we were really, as a football team, we were pretty poor," Schottenheimer said. "Just give coach Harbaugh and his team a bunch of credit. They were the more physical team tonight. That's certainly not our standard. That's certainly not how we see our identity playing."
The Giants offense posted 394 yards of total offense on Sunday night. On multiple occasions, Schottenheimer pointed out they were able to successfully run similar players over and over again, which was a frustrating occurrence. Part of the reason he says New York was able to do so? Youth on the defense.
"One of the things, not an excuse guys, we did not play well, but you got young players…" Schottenheimer said. "Those are going to happen. And we have to coach the young players better, but when you play young players, it's part of the deal. And they need to learn quickly."
Another thorn in the Cowboys' side was their struggle to bring the heat on second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart, who threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, but also added 54 yards on the ground from 11 carries.
"We did not get enough pressure on him," Schottenheimer said. "He looked pretty comfortable back there. I thought we had some good shots on the ball, but the pass rush does have to be better, for sure."
For Dallas' young players, and the team as a whole, the Cowboys' Week 1 result served as a wake-up call.
"This is a humbling business," Schottenheimer said. "And we got humbled tonight. That's what I told the guys. We lost mile one of a 17-mile marathon, and we have to be better. We will be better. And the only way to do that is to get back to work."
Dallas' struggles in the trenches didn't just come on the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys rushed for just 69 yards on 18 carries as a team, good for 3.8 yards per carry.
"I thought they pushed us around a little bit up front," Schottenheimer said. "Their defensive line, our running game, there was way too much penetration early in the game. Javonte was running into freaking, a wall in the beginning of the game. We made some good adjustments at halftime, but this is a team game."
At the end of the first half, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw a costly interception to Jevon Holland as he was rolling away from pressure and didn't put the ball far enough out of bounds. That would end up serving as a crucial springboard for the Giants, as they scored touchdowns on all three possessions after the interception.
"He was trying to throw it away, and he didn't get enough on it," Schottenheimer said. "And that happens, but it was a big momentum swing. They went down and scored, and they got the ball in the second half and they scored. That's unfortunately what they call a double dip, and they double dipped us."
After an offseason full of optimism about the new-look defense, talks of Super Bowl aspirations and more, was this the most disappointing opening night Schottenheimer's been a part of given the expectations?
"Been around a long time. So maybe, but right now this one feels pretty bad," Schottenheimer said. "Just because at the end of the day again, we just didn't perform the way we're capable of playing. We didn't play defense the way we're capable of playing, we didn't play offense in the first half the way we're capable of playing, we dropped the ball."
The Cowboys will have work to do this coming week ahead of their home opener next Sunday against the Washington Commanders, where Dallas will look to pick up their first victory of the year.
