Giants-Cowboys ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review: Giants pay off physical summer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants (1-0) won by eight points on Sunday night, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 28-20. In reality, though, the Giants put a beating on the Cowboys, dominating them physically.

The crowd was electric. The Giants played the way head coach John Harbaugh envisioned. They took advantage of the good vibes and the preparation that came out of the summer. They mostly did what they wanted to do on offense. Defensively, they controlled one of the NFL’s best offenses.

How big was the victory for Harbaugh?

“It’s funny, it’s number one. It’s number one because it’s the one right now. My dad always says that. He’ll say this in the car on the way home, he’ll say, John, you’ve never had a better win than that,” Harbaugh said. “He says it every time and I’m going to tell you, I think this time it might be true. But this was really special because these guys, these players, these guys who’ve had belief from the beginning, who don’t bat an eye, who just try to do the right thing every single day. Who try to be on point, and even when they’re not on point, they’re willing to bounce back and make it right.

“Maybe there’s a mistake, maybe there’s a false start, but we come back the next play and we find a way to make a play and erase the mistake and make it right and make it better. Buying into that kind of a mindset just in practice and then seeing it happen in the game, that’s what as a coach you feel so good about.”

Let’s get to the ‘Kudos and Willies’.

Giants fans — I cannot remember the last time the atmosphere in MetLife Stadium was as raucous as it was on Sunday night. There were loud boos when the Cowboys came on the field before the game, ovations for Malik Nabers and Odell Beckham, some ‘Let’s go Giants’ chants, and a constant buzz.

This was an awesome environment for the home team. It hinted at the possibilities of what things can be like if the Giants are actually good.

“It was more than I expected in all honesty,” Harbaugh said. “It was incredible. The stadium was unbelievable. It was everything that you would think, but it was more than I thought. It was really something.

“I want us to play well enough that we can create that atmosphere every single week here going forward throughout the season. That’s up to us. That’s our job as coaches and players to create a football team good enough to deserve that type of a stadium every time we play.”

John Harbaugh — The Giants paid off Harbaugh’s strenuous training canp with an impressive victory. There were good vibes entering the game, wildly enthusiastic fans in the stands, and the Giants cashed in with a massive victory.

A number of players credited the Giants’ tough training camp with how ready they were to play on Sunday night. Co-owner John Mara gave a game ball to Harbaugh after the victory.

Harbaugh celebrated by giving his parents a game ball.

Isaiah Likely — Likely caught eight passes in eight targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers are impressive. His contribution was even more impressive. All summer, we saw Dart lean on Likely in “gotta have it” situations. That carried through on Sunday night.

Leading 28-20 and trying to close out the victory, Dart found Likely for first downs on third-and-9 and third-and-3 to allow the Giants an opportunity to run the clock out. Likely ended up catching four passes for first downs. In the red zone, Likely was the first option, catching two short TD passes.

Malik Nabers — God told Nabers to play against the Cowboys. He did. And, he played exceptionally well. Nabers ended up with six catches on nine targets for 69 yards

“No matter what the coverage is, no matter who they put on him, you have all the confidence in the world that he’s going to make a play,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said of Nabers.

How did Nabers know he would be able to take a hit on Sunday night after not playing since tearing his ACL in Week 4 of last season? Harbaugh apparently tried to tackle him, that’s how.

Recovering their own fumbles — The Giants fumbled four times, and that could have dramatically changed the outcome of the game. Fortunately for them, the only one they lost was a Tyrone Tracy fumble in the red zone. They managed to get on top of the other three fumbles.

Devin Singletary — In training camp, Harbaugh said Singletary was one of the most consistent players he had been around. Singletary doesn’t do anything spectacular, he simply contributes. He had just six carries for 16 yards on Sunday, but added four catches for 22 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown catch to put the Giants up by two touchdowns midway through the fourth quarter.

Jaxson Dart — The second-year quarterback was outstanding against the Cowboys. He completed 23 of 29 passes (79.3%), for 230 yards, and three touchdowns. He ran 11 times for 54 yards. He got down or out of bounds when he needed to. He made big throws when the Giants needed them. He played the way a franchise quarterback is supposed to play.

Cam Skattebo — The Giants’ human battering ram of a running back helped the Giants grind down the Cowboys by running 18 times for 81 yards, 4.5 yards per carry. The Giants ran for 165 yards total on 37 attempts, 4.5 per rush.

Matt Nagy (and the offensive staff) — Maybe the way the Giants’ offense performed on Sunday, always seeming to be a step ahead of the Dallas defense, will quiet those who aren’t sure about Nagy’s ability to coordinate the Giants’ offense.

The Skattebo touchdown run was a beautifully-designed play where Skattebo had no Dallas defenders within 10 yards of him. One of the two Likely touchdowns was a gorgeous play where Likely seemed to appear out of thin air with everyone else going away from him.

Giants’ wide receivers were running wide open all night. The Giants ran the ball when they wanted to, and how they wanted to. They passed the ball efficiently, and Dart had to make few tight-window throws.

The Giants finished with 394 total yards, 150 more than the supposedly offensive superior Cowboys. They dominated Dallas physically, holding the ball for 36:40 compared to 23:20 for the Cowboys.

Third-down offense — Whether it was throwing the ball to Likely, running the tush push, Dart running the ball, Skattebo hammering into the line, it didn’t matter. The Giants went an audacious nine of 11 on third-down conversions.

Run defense — The offense wasn’t the only group dominating the Cowboys physically. The Giants allowed just 69 rushing yards on 18 carries, 3.8 yards per attempt. Who needs that Dexter guy?

Jevon Holland — Holland had a sliding interception that set up a Giants’ touchdown in the second quarter.

Tyrone Tracy — After fumbling away a scoring opportunity in the red zone on just his second carry of the game in the second quarter, Tracy did not play again on offense. He was on the kickoff return team after Deonte Banks suffered cramping, but that’s it.

Veteran running back Najee Harris was inactive Sunday. I have to think Tracy and Harris will be changing places for the foreseeable future.

Dru Phillips — Phillips was called for three defensive pass interference penalties. Even though I believe a couple were questionable, they were called. You just can’t commit that many DPIs, especiallu when they are spot fouls.

Paulson Adebo — Adebo’s first snap came on third-and-12 at the Giants’ 17-yard line after Deonte Banks had hobbled off the field. Adebo gave up an easy 15-yard completion to the 2-yard line. He also gave up a 10-yard completion to Jonathan Mingo that didn’t seem competitive.

Jon Runyan Jr. — As much as fans complain about center John Michael Schmitz, and even though he just got a two-year, $22 million contract extension, Runyan might be the weak link on the offensive line. His 37.6 score in the preliminary Pro Football Focus grades was the worst on the offense. He gave up three pressures in 34 pass-blocking snaps.