david dieHl - New York Giants

game 1
COWBOYS VS. GIANTS
SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
GIANTS 17, COWBOYS 24
The Giants’ season opening 24-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in MetLife Stadium
certainly left a sour feeling in their collective stomach. Seven months to the day after
they won Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants were hoping to take a strong initial step toward
another successful season. But their only lead was 3-0 and they trailed by two touchdowns
in the fourth quarter on their way to becoming the first defending champion to
lose an opener in 13 years (Denver, 1999).
Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes, including strikes of 10 and 40 yards to
Kevin Ogletree, who scored the first two touchdowns of his four-year, 32-game career,
and a 34-yarder to Miles Austin that put the Cowboys comfortably ahead in the fourth.
Dan Bailey kicked a 33-yard field goal for Dallas.
The game had many turning points from the Giants’ perspective, but perhaps none
as crucial as a strange sequence in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys led, 17-10, when
they drove from their own 18 to the Giants’ 14. But back-to-back 10-yard penalties
pushed them back to the 34, where they faced a first-and-30. The Giants seemingly had
the upper hand, but on the next snap, Austin juked his way past cornerback Justin Tryon
– who took over for the injured Michael Coe, who was filling in for the inactive Prince
Amukamara – and caught Romo’s pass before Rolle could get over from his safety position
and sprinted to the end zone for an unlikely touchdown that gave Dallas a 24-10
lead with 5:57 left.
1 2 3 4 OT F
COWBOYS 0 7 10 7 - 24
GIANTS 0 3 7 7 - 17
SCORING SUMMARY
Team Qtr Time Play Description (Extra Point) (Drive Info) Visitor Home
Giants 2 9:10 L.Tynes 22 yd. Field Goal (4--3, 1:20) 0 3
Cowboys 2 1:01 K.Ogletree 10 yd. pass from T.Romo (D.Bailey kick) (7-73, 2:33) 7 3
Cowboys 3 10:24 K.Ogletree 40 yd. pass from T.Romo (D.Bailey kick) (9-80, 4:36) 14 3
Giants 3 5:11 A.Bradshaw 10 yd. run (L.Tynes kick) (9-89, 5:13) 14 10
Cowboys 3 0:40 D.Bailey 33 yd. Field Goal (8-65, 4:31) 17 10
Cowboys 4 5:57 M.Austin 34 yd. pass from T.Romo (D.Bailey kick) (8-82, 7:06) 24 10
Giants 4 2:36 M.Bennett 9 yd. pass from E.Manning (L.Tynes kick) (12-79, 3:21) 24 17
TOP INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Cowboys Giants
Rushing Yards Murray - 131 Bradshaw - 78
Receiving Yards Ogletree - 114 Cruz - 58
Passing Yards Romo - 307 Manning - 213
Touchdowns Ogletree - 2 Bradshaw - 1
austin - 1 Bennett - 1
Field Goals (long) Bailey - 1 (33) Tynes - 1 (22)
Tackles (solo) Lee - 12 (10) Rolle - 9 (9)
Sacks Ware - 2.0 Bernard - 1.0
Hatcher - 1.0 Joseph - 1.0
Interceptions - boley - 1