The Dallas Cowboys traveled to the MetLife Stadium for a Week 9 Monday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants. Dallas led the all-time series between the two teams and had defeated the Giants the prior five times the teams met, including in Week 1 of this season. The Cowboys made that six in a row when they defeated the Giants 37-18 on Monday night in a hard-fought win plagued with turnovers, physical altercations, and a ton of penalties.
The Cowboys started the game with possession of the ball, but Antoine Bethea intercepted a Dak Prescott pass on the opening drive.
The Giants came back in their opening drive and Aldrick Rosas kicked a 21-yard field goal to put the first points of the game on the board, marking the first time since Week 4 the Giants had the lead in a game.
The next Dallas possession was also marred by a fumble and recovery from Prescott on a dropped snap. Later, a touchdown between Prescott and Randall Cobb was nullified due to penalties called on both teams, and soon, Tony Pollard would drop the ball in an attempt to convert on third down. Dallas kicker Brett Maher, who broke records in the Cowboys’ game against the Eagles, put Dallas on the board and tied the game with a 35-yard field goal but missed his next 54-yard attempt.
New York put their first touchdown on the board in the first possession of the second quarter when Cody Latimer rushed the ball one yard. Rosas missed the extra point, but the Giants again took the lead, 9-3.
In a game full of penalties and turnovers, Dallas again turned the ball over in their first possession of the second quarter when Randall Cobb fumbled the ball and Bethea recovered it at the Giants’ 20-yard line.
In one of the most exciting moments of the game, a black cat ran out onto the field, stopping play for a minute and a half and perhaps slowing the Giants’ momentum, as the drive ended with another Rosas field goal, this time from 25 yards.
In the last 52 seconds of the first half, the Cowboys, down by nine points, managed to take the lead after Blake Jarwin put a touchdown on the board on a career-high 42-yard reception, and Xavier Woods intercepted a pass in the following New York possession and took it for a 29-yard return. Then, Maher kicked a 52-yard field goal to finish out the first half, and Dallas had the lead at halftime, 13-12.
New York lost possession of the ball in their first drive of the second half when Jones was sacked, and then in the next possession, Jones rushed the ball and fumbled it, taking a hit from Xavier Woods, and this drive would cause a lot of contention and skirmishes for the rest of the game. Dallas put the first points of the second quarter on the board with another 28-yard field goal. With 30 seconds left in the quarter, Rosas answered with a field goal of his own, but his Giants still trailed the Cowboys by one point, 16-15.
Dallas started the fourth quarter with a 15-yard touchdown between Prescott and Gallup, extending the lead to 23-15.
Despite a 65-yard run by Saquon Barkley, the Giants finished their first possession of the final quarter with another Rosas field goal, this time from 29 yards to cut the Dallas lead to five. That would be the last time New York scored for the rest of the game.
In the possessions that followed, there were several unnecessary roughness penalties called on Dallas following several brawls that ensued on the field, all stemming back to the hit Jones took earlier in the game. Will Hernandez was involved in all of the brawls on the field but was able to avoid any penalty calls being called on him.
Despite the tension and altercations between the two teams, Dallas was able to keep their heads in the game and scored a touchdown when Amari Cooper took it 45 yards. In the last drive of the game, Jones was sacked one more time, and Jourdan Lewis took the recovered ball for a 63-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left on the clock. The game ended with Dallas taking the second victory of the season over the Giants, and their sixth in a row, 37-18.
The Cowboys will face the Vikings in Sunday Night Football on Nov. 10, while the Giants will take on the Jets.
Watch as head coach Jason Garrett shares his thoughts following a 37-18 road win. #DALvsNYG
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1191613601674678272
