The PML regular season starts off with an age-old division rivalry that the Cowboys have dominated as of late. Coach Burn and his Giants looked to change that narrative in week one. The game plan was simple: run the ball straight into the middle of the Cowboys defensive line. That is after all their only weak spot on the team. Coach Burn had the game plan in place and was ready to start week 1 of the season. This was until everything fell apart quickly at the seams.
Daniel Jones and the Giants went into the game down their right tackle Neal, which put a backup against one of the best defensive players in the league in Parsons. Parsons forced quick pressure early and often which resulted in Daniel Jones missing some open receivers early in the game. The Cowboys would go up 7 to 0 after a Giants punt. On their very next drive, Barkley rips off two 10 yard inside zones, which gets the Giants into some momentum. On his third carry of the drive, he gets hurt with a medium injury which cost him two quarters of the game. This combined with a stack box, resulted in the Giants having to shift the game plan to more of a passing attack.
Jones couldn’t handle the pressure at all which led to him missing a plethora of open passes. This led to the Giants punting the ball 4 times, without gaining any momentum. Barkley would come back into the game near the middle of the third quarter, which boosted the Giants offense. The third quarter would end with a score of 24-17. With the Cowboys, having dominated the time of possession in the game, and scoring in the early 4th quarter to make the game 27-17, Coach Burn felt the need to throw the ball to preserve the clock. This resulted in Jones seeing something that wasn’t there, as the Cowboys showed pre snap that Barkley was unguarded near the left sideline. Jones quickly threw the ball which resulted in a bad throw right to the shifting defender. The Giants would trade field goals with the Cowboys, while Jones forced another long throw for an interception, resulting in the final score of 30-20.
Key Game Injuries:
HB Barkley: First Quarter – 2 Quarters
WR Slayton: First Quarter – Dislocated Shoulder, out for the game
RT Thomas: Second Quarter – 2 Quarters
The offense was decimated at times down two starting tackles, their number one running back and receiver which led to a lot of punts in the game. The defense had a bend but don’t break attitude which kept the Giants in the game until the end. The offense needs to clean up and produce despite the injuries.
Key Stats:
QB Jones: 17/37 298 yards, 2 Touchdowns, 2 Interceptions
HB Barkley: 12 Rushes 59 yards,
WR Hyatt: 6 Receptions 100 yards, 1 Touchdown
Jones had a bad day throwing the ball. He was inaccurate on most of his passes and lucky on the others. He hit two deep passes which kept the Giants going on offense, but will need to get it together or it will be a long season.
Barkley getting hurt forced an alternative game plan but he will still be the man on this team. Coach Burn will need to work some other running backs into the rotation to try to avoid Barkley getting injured again.
Hyatt came out and produced when his name was called. He has forced himself into a starting role in week two and will be looking out for a breakout game soon.
All in all, the Giants feel that they played close in the game but didn’t have enough passing firepower to keep up with the Cowboys in the end. If Jones can clean up his act, they feel that they can win the second match up. Up next the Giants travel to Arizona where they will look to get their first win of the season. Arizona has a less than stellar team, however, their coach is one of the best so it would be a tough challenge non the less.
