Cowboys sack Eli Manning 6 times in 20-13 victory on ‘Sunday Night Football’

The Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 on the season after a big win over the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, winning 20-13. Neither team was particularly great on offense, but the Giants were abysmal on that front, so a couple good Cowboys drives were enough to pick up the win.

Dallas managed to bring down Giants quarterback Eli Manning six times for a loss of 59 yards. Manning was ineffective throughout the game, as was his offensive line in front of him. Saquon Barkley had a few good runs, but ultimately was picking up yards on his own for the most part, as the line was handled in both phases of the game. Barkley finished with just 28 yards rushing.

At the half, the Cowboys were in control of the game, though it wasn’t a blowout by any means. Dak Prescott hit Tavon Austin on a beautiful 64-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, but finished the half completing just 7 of 14 passes.

Every offensive drive for the Giants seemed to be ruined by a sack from Dallas. Then in the fourth, Prescott led the Cowboys on a 14-play, 82-yard touchdown drive that also took 8:23 off the clock. Though most didn’t expect the Giants would turn things around in the second half, that drive effectively sealed the game, even with nearly six minutes remaining.

The Giants would go on to score a touchdown with under two minutes remaining, and with all timeouts remaining. They went with an onside kick, and recovered it. They then drove down and kicked another field goal, but couldn’t convert the second onside kick.

Below is the live blog from Sunday night, in reverse order.

Cowboys 20, Giants 13, FINAL: After the touchdown and onside kick recovery, Manning hits Engram for 3 yards, then 5 yards to Shepard, then Engram again for 8 yards. Incomplete pass deep in the end zone, then a short pass to Barkley, who goes out of bounds. 30 seconds to go, Manning finds Beckham for 14 yards, and they take their second timeout. Another pass goes out of bounds. They then line up for and kick a field goal, making it a 7-point game, and will attempt another onside kick. It goes out of bounds. Cowboys win.

Cowboys 20, Giants 10, 1:25 4Q: The Giants take over on their own 25, and take advantage of Dallas running a pretty lax prevent defense with short passe, including a 16-yard pass to Beckham. They eventually moved into Dallas territory. Two minute warning at the Dallas 19-yard line. They get a delay of game penalty. Manning eventually finds Engram for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra point is good, but there’s under 90 seconds remaining. The onside kick is successful.

Cowboys 20, Giants 3, 5:45, 4Q: Dallas takes over on their own 18-yard line. They convert a 3rd-and-8 with a 10-yard pass to Beasley. Then they end up in another third down situation, a 3rd-and-4. They pick up 3 yards, setting up a 4th-and-1, which they convert with a quarterback sneak. Elliott picks up 19 yards on a run, and then Prescott picks up 9 more yards on the ground to get into the red zone. Prescott is nearly intercepted in the end zone, but it’s incomplete. On second down, Prescott picks up 8 more yards rushing. And then Elliott punches it in for a touchdown, and this one is pretty much over.

Cowboys 13, Giants 3, 14:08, 4Q: Cowboys get the ball back, but it’s a disaster of a drive. Facing a 3rd-and-1, they’re called for holding two times in a row, making it a 3rd-and-21. They don’t convert, so they punt. New York gets the ball on their own 36-yard line, and after picking up a yard on two Barkley runs, the third quarter comes to an end. The start of the fourth isn’t much better for the Giants, as Manning is sacked for the sixth time. They punt it away.

Cowboys 13, Giants 3, 4:31, 3Q: Giants get the ball back on their own 24-yard line. Barkley goes for 5 yards, then for 9 yards for the first down. Jones was injured on the next play, an incomplete pass to Beckham, for Dallas. After the injury timeout, Manning goes deep to Latimer and hits him for 37 yards, into Dallas territory.

Barkley gets nothing on a run, but then picks up 18 yards on a short pass. The Giants get a 1st-and-goal from the 3-yard line. They were called for holding on Ellison, though, and then lost Halapio due to injury. On a 2nd-and-11, Manning threw incomplete to Shepard. On third down, the Manning has plenty of time to throw, but the coverage is too good and he’s ultimately hit hard by Smith. Manning picked up a yard on the play. But they put points on the board with a 28-yard field goal from Rosas.

Cowboys 13, Giants 0, 10:43, 3Q: After the Dallas fumble recovery, the Cowboys picked up a quick first down with a Prescott pass to Thompson for 11 yards. A couple short plays later, and Maher’s 29-yard field goal attempt is good, giving them a 13-point lead.

Cowboys 10, Giants 0, 13:22, 3Q: Well, if the Giants made halftime adjustments, they weren’t good ones. Manning was sacked once again, for the fifth time, and fumbled the ball on the first possession of the second half.

Cowboys 10, Giants 0, 6:27 2Q: Eli Manning isn’t exactly known for being fleet of foot, and has been sacked three times so far in the first half. He also ran twice for three yards, including one surprising play.

OBJ kicks: Check out these shoes, on which Odell Beckham Jr. has caught two passes for 20 yards in the early going.

Cowboys 7, Giants 0, 13:45 1Q: Tavon Austin outran everybody, dashing 64 yards to give Dallas its first lead of the season, less than two minutes into the game. In Week 1 against Carolina, the Cowboys didn’t score until the game’s 53rd minute.

Both the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys couldn’t find a consistent offense in their first week, and they’ll enter their Sunday Night Football game between each other searching for their first wins. The game is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC (live streaming via FuboTV, NBC Sports).

Dallas mustered just 8 points against the Carolina Panthers, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Dak Prescott completed 19 of 29 passes for 170 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was also sacked six times, while Ezekiel Elliott managed 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Against the Jacksonville Jaguars in their opener, the Giants managed some offense, scoring 15 points, but ultimately lost a close one, 20-15. Eli Manning completed 23 of 37 passes for 224 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, which was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Myles Jack.

Below is all you need to know to follow the action on Sunday.

The Giants can’t hide Flowers. He has to block somebody. They aren’t starting Chad Wheeler on Sunday night. So, what will the Giants do about Lawrence?

“The guy assigned to block him has to block him,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “He’s certainly been very disruptive. The thing about him is, he’s long, he’s got a twitch and he can get going quickly. He’s relentless, he plays hard throughout the game, so you’ve got a full day with him. You’ve got to block him 65 or 70 times, or he’ll disrupt the game. You’re asking me about a really good player, and we have our challenge to block him.”

The Giants will use every trick they can come up. Chip blocks from the backs. Using tight ends on that side. Perhaps bunching the formation in front of Lawrence just to create traffic. Moving Eli Manning out of the pocket on occasion.

Of the seven SB Nation experts picking Week 2 games, three ofthem think the Giants will win, with the other four picking Dallas. Those picking Dallas are joined by the, fittingly, 8-8 coin flip and the 9-7 OddsShark computer.