This game sure looked ugly at times, but in the end, it was a thing of beauty for the Cowboys and their fans … thanks to Brandon Aubrey.
Dallas' Pro Bowl kicker tied the game as time expired with a 64-yard field goal and then won it in overtime with a 46-yarder as the clock hit zeroes. With that, Dallas avoided the franchise's first tie since 1969 and took down the rival Giants, 40-37, to move to 1-1 on the season.
Despite the visitors racking up 14 penalties, tied for the second most by an opponent in Cowboys history, for 160 yards, the third-highest total in club record books, Dallas couldn't take advantage of New York's undisciplined play. In fact, the visitors' self-inflicted wounds may have been the difference in this close affair, although the Cowboys had 12 penalties for 106 yards of their own.
Dak Prescott was again sharp, completing 73.1 percent of passes for 361 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to earn a 96.7 rating. CeeDee Lamb posted 113 receiving yards, while Jake Ferguson added 78 and George Pickens another 68, plus his first touchdown wearing the Star.
And on the ground, Javonte Williams continued to shine, totaling 97 rushing yards, which included a 30-yard touchdown run. Overall, Dallas ran for 135 yards.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, New York quarterback Russell Wilson largely picked apart the Cowboys defense, completing 73.2 percent of his passes for 450 yards with three touchdowns and one interception to post a 123.0 passer rating.
Dallas had trouble containing star wideout Malik Nabors, who collected 167 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but slot receiver Wan'Dale Robinson also proved to be a problem as he finished the day with a career-high 142 receiving yards and a score of his own. The Cowboys, though, did sack the quarterback three times and got an all-important turnover when they perhaps needed it most.
Overall, the Cowboys totaled 478 yards of offense with a time of possession of 37:21. They were also 3 for 3 in the red zone, compared to the Giants' finishing 1 for 5. New York picked up 506 yards of offense on the day while holding onto the ball for 32:39
First Quarter
As much as the Giants tried to derail themselves on the first drive of the game – committing six penalties, including one on the opening kickoff – they still managed to reel off 16 plays and eat 8:49 off the clock to reach the Cowboys' 20-yard line. But there the drive would end, so even though Wilson threw for 95 yards during the possession, New York had to settle for a 38-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.
Two drives, six points for the Giants. The Cowboys had to punt on their first series after failing to snap what would have been a successful conversion on fourth-and-1 before the play-clock hit zero. With that, the visitors then went 55 yards in eight plays before Graham Gano kicked a 33-yard field goal for New York.
Second Quarter
The offense finally showed some life as the second quarter got underway, Prescott connecting with CeeDee Lamb for a nice 34-yard gain. But on third-and-10 at the Giants' 25-yard line, the quarterback was sacked, so the Cowboys turned to Brandon Aubrey, who was good from 51 yards to get Dallas on the board.
Unfortunately, the Giants then needed only five plays to score the game's first touchdown. The damage was done when Wilson found Wan'Dale Robinson for 25 yards to the Dallas 29 and then connected with Malik Nabers in the end zone on the very next play, New York improving their stake to 13-3.
But the Cowboys responded with an eight-play, 64-yard drive to pay dirt. While things took a laughable turn when four penalties, three on the Giants, were called on one play, Dallas got the touchdown on the next snap when Prescott threw a dart to KaVonte Turpin in the end zone.
Dallas had one more chance, getting the ball back with 1:36 remaining in the half. With no timeouts, though, the home team was unable to get into field goal range and so found themselves still trailing, 13-10, at the break.
Third Quarter
Whatever momentum the Cowboys might have eked out in the second quarter quickly came to an end as the third frame got underway. Two plays into the half, Prescott tried to find Lamb across the middle, but throwing off his back foot, instead had hit pass picked off.
Set up with great field position at the Dallas 40-yard line, the Giants did get down to the 10. However, on fourth-and-3, running back Cam Skattebo couldn't corral Wilson's pass, so with the incompletion, the Cowboys luckily came away unscathed.
And this time they took advantage as Dallas went 90 yards in just six plays for the score. Helped by roughing the passer and pass interference penalties that provided 37 yards, the Cowboys saw running back Javonte Williams pick up the final 30 yards. He powered through the line of scrimmage with some tough rushing, broke a couple of tackles and then went untouched the final 20 yards to the end zone, which gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game, 17-13.
The Giants narrowed it to a one-point game with a 33-yard field, thanks mainly to a 52-yard completion from Wilson to Darious Slayton. But Dallas defense wouldn't let New York get past the 10-yard line, limiting the harm.
Fourth Quarter
You kick a field goal; we'll kick a field goal. As the clock ticked over into the final quarter, the Cowboys were in the midst of an 11-play, 56-yard drive. But they couldn't finish off the possession, instead settling for a 44-yard Aubrey field goal to go back up by four.
Less than two minutes of game clock later, though, Dallas again saw itself trailing on the scoreboard. This time it was the Cowboys who helped the other side with a costly penalty, as a pass interference call on safety Donovan Wilson resulted in a 21-yard penalty down to the Dallas 25-yard line. The battering ram Skattebo then did the rest, rumbling 24 yards to the 1-yard line before picking up the final distance on the next play to put the Giants in front, 23-20.
That lead didn't last long. Prescott was firing on all cylinders on his team's next series, completing each of his five passes for 60 yards, while Miles Sanders bounced in at running back and finished off the drive with runs of 6 and 4 yards to reach the end zone, Dallas back on top 27-23.
And then disaster struck. On fourth-and-4 at the Dallas 32-yard line, Wilson found Robinson streaking wide open down the right seem, the slot receiver hauling in the pass in the end zone to put the Giants back on top, 30-27, with 2:44 left in the game.
But that was plenty of time for Prescott and company to go to work. They needed only 1:52 of clock time and 71 yards in 11 plays, to get the home team back on top. Spreading the ball around, the Cowboys' quarterback found Jalen Tolber for 11 yards, Pickens for 14 and Lamb for 12 with Williams rushing for 13 as well. In the end, it was Pickens who got the scoring honors, hauling in Prescott's offering just inside the left pylon for the touchdown.
Now with only 48 seconds remaining, the game seemed to be in hand. But Wilson had other ideas. He scrambled 15 yards to the Dallas 48-yard line, which set him up for a deep ball to Nabers, who with two Cowboys defenders on him, hauled in the bomb in the end zone for the score.
Thirty-three seconds were left when the Cowboys took the field one last time. And an 18-yard pass to Jake Ferguson set Dallas up at the New York 49-yard line with 9 seconds left. In somewhat surprising move, Brian Schottenheimer called a quick handoff to Williams to simply set Aubrey up for a 64-yard field goal.
And the sure-footed kicker was good, slipping the ball through the uprights to tie the score, 37-37, and send the game into overtime. The 41 points posted in the final frame tied the Cowboys' team record for the most scored by both teams combined in the fourth quarter.
Overtime
The Giants won the toss but chose to let the Cowboys take the field first on offense, but neither side could do anything on their first possessions of the extra time. So when Dallas then got the ball back a second time, any points would decide the game, a true sudden death.
But while the Cowboys had to punt again, they got the ball back with two minutes remaining. Russell Wilson attempted a deep ball to Nabers, only to have safety Donovan Wilson intercept the pass to give Dallas the ball at its own 30-yard line.
Prescott made it count. His first pass was a 27-yarder to Pickens to get into enemy territory. Two plays later, Prescott escaped the pocket and scramble up the middle 14 yards to the Giants 28.
That left it to Aubrey, who came on with 4 seconds left to try a 46-yard field goal. And, of course, Aubrey was money, providing the needed three points to send the fans home happy with a 40-37 victory.
