Cowboys 24 - Giants 17

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants (24-17) in the NFL's season opener. Both teams looked average in the first quarter, but the Cowboys really cranked up the heat in the second quarter and in the second half.

Cowboy's quarterback Tony Romo completed 22 of 29 passes for 307 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception. The story of the night was Cowboy's no. 3 receiver Kevin Ogletree, who had 8 receptions for 114 yards and 2 TDs. Ogletree could not be stopped by the Giant's anemic secondary, especially when he flew by Giant's cornerback Corey Webster on a "hitch and go" route that left Ogletree wide open up the sideline for a 40 yard score. The Giant's defensive line only sacked Tony Romo twice, while the Cowboys defense got to Eli Manning 3 times during the game.

Eli went 21 of 32 passing for 213 yards and 1 TD. Not the "elite" numbers that Giant's fans are used to. The Cowboy's defense played very well against the defending Super Bowl champs, with a little help from Victor Cruz who had 3 wide open drops. No salsa dancing last night for Cruz, who was a breakout star last season. It looks like defenses have received the scouting report on him, as he only caught 6 passes for 58 yards. 

The Cowboy's defense also had a little help from 2nd string rookie running back David Wilson who fumbled the ball on the 2nd carry of his NFL career and then never touched the ball for the rest of the game. It seems to me that he lost a lot of trust from Giant's coach Tom Coughlin on that play. But is that the message you want to send to your 2nd string rookie running back? Look for Wilson to be dropped from fantasy football leagues this week.

All in all, the Giants offense looked average, their defense looked below average, and the Cowboys looked good on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. Rookie 1st round pick Morris Claiborne played well in his first NFL start, recording 4 tackles while pressing the Giant's wide receivers and doing a steady job in coverage. The Giants have a lot of things to work on before their week 2 match-up with Tampa Bay, who picked up 6'5'' superstar wide receiver Vincent Jackson in the off season. The Cowboys, on the other hand, head up to Seattle to take on the revamped Seahawks next week. 

Is it safe to say that the Cowboys are legitimate playoff contenders this season?

It will be interesting to see what happens on October 28th when the Giants head to Dallas for the week 8 grudge match.