EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.
Despite an offseason full of changes on the defensive side of the ball, the same issues that plagued the Cowboys in 2025 reared their head once again in the 2026 opener, as Dallas traveled to New York and fell to the Giants 28-20.
The most glaring shortcoming of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s unit was a staggering 10-of-11 conversion rate for the Giants on third down, as the defense could not get off the field all night. The offense didn’t help out for most of the contest, either, as they generated just 244 yards and failed to find consistency throughout the night.
Let’s take a look at the five takeaways for the Cowboys from the disappointing opening night loss, as Dallas will head back home searching for early season answers.
In the trenches, the Giants were … giant
In 90 percent of instances, if a team overwhelms another in the trenches on both sides of the ball, that team wins the game handily. That’s exactly what happened Sunday night in New Jersey.
Let’s start from the top. The first play for the Cowboys offense: a 1-yard Javonte Williams run. The first play for the Cowboys defense: a 5-yard Cam Skattebo run. Stack plays like that over the course of an entire game, and you see what the end result is. Now, let’s jump to the end. The Cowboys ran for 69 yards, while the Giants ran for 166.
No doubt, the Giants have gotten more physical with additions like Cam Skattebo and Brian Burns over the last couple of years, but the long-known identity of John Harbaugh teams showed up on Sunday, and it quickly reminded the Cowboys that there is a lot of work to be done.
Dak’s interception flipped the game
With the game tied at seven with under a minute to go in the first half, Dak Prescott escaped pressure and hurled an ill-advised ball into traffic around midfield on a third down play. The wobbly pass was heavily underthrown to KaVontae Turpin — not a known contested catch receiver — and Giants safety Jevon Holland was able to slide under it for the interception.
The interception gave New York the ball with 49 seconds left in the half on its own 45-yard line and two timeouts in-hand. Six plays later and two pass plays of 15 yards or more not only gave the Giants unexpected points at the end of the half, it gave them a touchdown to go up 14-7 at the break.
Receiving the ball to start the second half, the Giants drove straight down the field and scored again after an eight-minute drive, making it 21-7.
Yes, the defense didn’t do him any favors, but throwing an interception and then being down 14 points the next time you get the ball is a big indictment on the mistake Prescott made.
Linebacker play suffered badly
Missed tackles, open receivers over the middle and running backs powering past the second level was the theme of the night for the linebacker corps of DeMarvion Overshown, Dee Winters and Jaishawn Barham.
We knew the group lacked depth coming into the season, but if there are problems with that trio that can’t preach any confidence into the defense, then it could be a long season defensively, regardless of how the rest of the group around them responds. The play of the group was highlighted on the Giants’ fourth touchdown drive where running back Devin Singletary caught three passes out of the backfield on Jaxson Dart dump-off passes over the course of four plays that generated 29 yards. The final one broke the goal line with no defender in sight.
And then to highlight the already existing depth concerns, Overshown exited the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
It’s not like the Giants are great
It’d be one thing if the Giants didn’t make mistakes and just played clean football to overwhelm the Cowboys all night, but the young group on both sides of the ball had their fair share of hiccups, too.
New York fumbled the ball four times on the night, had four pass interference plays that helped set up Dallas touchdowns and failed to get a sack despite generating pressure throughout the night. Even the Giants struggled on third down, allowing Dallas to convert on 8-of-11 tries.
One thing that could take the Giants far is the physicality at the line, as mentioned earlier, but the team overall is still young and mistake-prone. The Cowboys’ experience on both sides of the ball should have been able to overcome that, but it just never did.
Bright spots: Downs and Ezeiruaku
It wasn’t all bad. Despite the superstar talents not showing up, there were some bright spots to pull out of the game. Rookie first-round pick Caleb Downs didn’t have any noticeable coverage breakdowns and recorded the team’s first sack of the season on a nickel blitz that stripped Dart.
And while the pass rush unit as a whole didn’t offer any optimism, second-year outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku was a constant presence whenever the pass rush did show up. Officially, he was credited with half a sack, but his pressure made life difficult for Dart throughout the night. However, he will need the rest of the unit to help him out.
Cobie Durant showed some promise in his Cowboys debut, as he recorded a pass breakup in the first half and showed consistent coverage. CeeDee Lamb got going late, and Brevyn Spann-Ford was a welcomed presence in the receiving game. Aside from that, things were rough in East Rutherford.
Game schedule dates, times, locations Sept. 8 Rangers 10, Seattle 5 Sept. 9 Seattle 3, Rangers 2 Sept. 10 Seattle 4, Rangers 3 Sept. 11 Arizona 9, Rangers 1 Sept. 12 Rangers 6, Arizona 2 Sept. 13 at Arizona, 3:10 p.m., RSN Sept. 15 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 16 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 17 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 18 vs. Toronto, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 19 vs. Toronto, 6:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 20 vs. Toronto, 1:35 p.m., RSN Aug. 17 Golden State 78, Wings 70 Aug. 20 Wings 91, Indiana 85 Aug. 23 Wings 92, Seattle 70 Aug. 25 Wings 96, Portland 78 Aug. 30 Wings 97, Connecticut 71 FIBA World Cup break Sept. 17 vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA Sept. 19 vs. Phoenix, 12 p.m., CBS, Paramount+ Sept. 21 at Phoenix, 9 p.m., KFAA, USA Sept. 23 at Seattle, 9 p.m., KFAA, USA, CNBC End of regular season Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA Aug. 29 North Carolina 15, TCU 10 Sept. 12 TCU 63, Grambling State 7 Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 5 Indiana 52, North Texas 16 Sept. 12 North Texas 44, UNLV 6 Sept. 19 at Texas State, 11 a.m., USA Sept. 26 vs. Houston Christian, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Oct. 1 at Tulsa, 8 p.m., ESPN Oct. 10 vs. Charlotte, TBA Oct. 24 at Navy, 2:30 p.m. CBSSN Oct. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2 Nov. 7 vs. Rice, TBA Nov. 14 at UTSA, TBA Nov. 21 at Tulane, TBA Nov. 28 vs. UAB, TBA All home games at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Aug. 27 Central Oklahoma 59, Texas Wesleyan 7 Sept. 5 McNeese State 52, Texas Wesleyan 0 Sept. 12 Texas Wesleyan 56, Texas College 20 Sept. 26 vs. Nelson, 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Arkansas Baptist, 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Louisiana Christian, 2 p.m. Oct. 17 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Langston, 2 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Ottawa (Arizona), 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wayland Baptist, 2 p.m. Aug. 22 Vancouver 5, FC Dallas 0 Aug. 30 FC Dallas 3, St. Louis 3 Sept. 5 FC Dallas 4, Kansas City 3 Sept. 9 FC Dallas 2, Minnesota 1 Sept. 12 FC Dallas 2, Portland 1 Sept. 19 vs. Austin, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Sept. 26 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 10 at Charlotte, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 14 vs. Seattle, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 17 at Houston, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Sept. 19 Black Light Run Sept. 25-26 Dumpster Expo Oct. 1-3 Dirt Track Championship Oct. 2-3 Goodguys Lone Star Nationals Oct. 14 Tony Stewart Bowling Tournament Oct. 16-17 High Limit Racing Championship Oct. 29-31 POWRi Racing
This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 10:32 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.