All week, the narrative surrounding the Cowboys is that they could not stop the run.
The numbers after three games were incriminating and it certainly made sense that the Giants on Thursday night would try to test the Dallas defense by working the ground game.
It did not work out too well for the Giants.
They tried to establish the run but they went nowhere in the first half.
They ran it 16 times and managed to gain only 29 yards for a feeble average of 1.8 yards per attempt. Devin Singletary got it eight times and ran for only 22 yards.
The Giants finished with a pathetic 26 rushing yards in a 20-15 loss at MetLife Stadium.
This was a far cry from what other teams did to the Cowboys the past three games.
In Week 3, they allowed 274 rushing yards to the Ravens and the 557 rushing yards allowed was the most given up by the Dallas franchise in the first three games of a season.
Rookie WR Malik Nabers became the third player in the Super Bowl era with 30 or more receptions in his first four NFL games.
The only other players to accomplish this are Puka Nacua (39 receptions) and Anquan Boldin (30). Nabers came into the game with 23 catches in his first three games.
Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys’ top cornerback, left the field with 11:30 remaining with dehydration. He was able to return for the next series.
With two cornerbacks — veteran Adoree’ Jackson and rookie Dru Phillips — down with calf injuries, the Giants had to improvise in their secondary.
Nick McCloud, back in the lineup after missing the past two games with a knee injury, moved in as the slot corner and Cor’Dale Flott started opposite Deonte Banks as a perimeter corner.
TE Daniel Belllinger got called for a holding penalty in the first quarter, but it was Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown who grabbed Bellinger by the face mask.
WR Darius Slayton, listed as questionable heading into the game with a thumb injury, was able to play. He had a 28-yard reception in the second quarter.
Daniel Jones continued to stay atop the list as the quarterback with the worst record in NFL history in prime time. He dropped to 1-13, a winning percentage of .071.
Next on that inauspicious list are Andy Dalton (6-21), Jeff George (5-17) and Ken Anderson (3-10).
Dak Prescott has won 13 consecutive starts against the Giants, becoming the fourth quarterback ever to notch 13 straight wins against an opponent.
Bob Griese of the Dolphins did it to the Bills from 1968-79, Steve Young of the 49ers did it to the Rams from 1987-98 and Tom Brady did it to the Bills from 2003-10.
Griese and Young are Hall of Famers and Brady will be once he becomes eligible.
The last time the Giants beat the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, there was no one in the seats to see it.
It was a 23-19 Giants victory on Jan. 3, 2021, but that was the COVID season and fans were not allowed in the building.
The last time the Giants beat the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium in front of a full crowd was Dec. 11, 2016, a 10-7 triumph.
The Cowboys entered the game averaging only 4.3 points in the first quarter.
How bad was the Dallas defense in the first three games?
That unit had 32 missed tackles, resulting in the third-most yards lost to missed tackles (241) in the league.
With nine missed tackles, veteran DE Demarcus Lawrence shared the NFL lead.
There were also alarming trends on offense.
Running backs Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott and Deuce Vaughn did not break a single tackle in the first three games.
TE/FB Jakob Johnson and CB Duke Shelley were elevated from the practice squad for the game.
The Giants inactives were Jackson, Phillips, S Anthony Johnson, OLB Benton Whitley, OLB Boogie Basham and G Jake Kubas. Tommy DeVito was the third quarterback.
For the Cowboys, starting CB Caelen Carson was inactive.
