Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats: Who Controlled the Week 1 Game?
Fans search for Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats after every meeting, yet most pages bury the numbers under noise. You get a score and a vague recap, but no real picture of who won the game. This guide fixes that. It breaks down the Week 1 game by team, by quarter, and by scoring play, so you see exactly what happened.
What Do the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats Show at a Glance?
Short answer: The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday Night Football on September 13, 2026. The Giants hosted the game at MetLife Stadium. They gained 394 yards to Dallas’s 244 and held the ball for 36:40.
The Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats tell a clear story. The Giants moved the ball at will and finished drives. Dallas stayed close through big plays but never took the lead.
The two teams share the NFC East, so every meeting carries weight in the division race.
How Do the Team Stats Compare?
This table puts the main team numbers side by side.
| Team stat | New York Giants | Dallas Cowboys |
| Final score | 28 | 20 |
| Total yards | 394 | 244 |
| Total plays | 68 | 52 |
| Yards per play | 5.8 | 4.7 |
| First downs | 29 | 21 |
| Time of possession | 36:40 | 23:20 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Penalties (yards) | 10 (114) | 9 (90) |
| Touchdowns | 4 | 3 |
The gap in plays and possession matters most. The Giants ran 16 more plays than Dallas. That edge wore down the Cowboys defense, which made 77 combined tackles.
How Did the Scoring Unfold Quarter by Quarter?
The Giants scored a touchdown in every quarter. Dallas answered in the second, third, and fourth.
| Quarter | Giants | Cowboys | Score after quarter |
| 1st | 7 | 0 | Giants 7, Cowboys 0 |
| 2nd | 7 | 7 | Giants 14, Cowboys 7 |
| 3rd | 7 | 7 | Giants 21, Cowboys 14 |
| 4th | 7 | 6 | Giants 28, Cowboys 20 |
Dallas never led. The closest margin after the first quarter was a one-point gap at 7-6, before the extra point tied it at 7-7.
Which Players Scored in the Cowboys vs Giants Game?
This scoring log is the backbone of the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats record. It lists every touchdown in order.
| Quarter and clock | Team | Player and play | Score |
| Q1, 6:45 | Giants | Skattebo, 3-yard rush | 7-0 (after extra point) |
| Q2, 5:48 | Cowboys | Prescott to Lamb, 1-yard pass | 7-7 |
| Q2, 0:25 | Giants | Dart to Likely, 15-yard pass | 14-7 |
| Q3, 7:04 | Giants | Dart to Likely, 2-yard pass | 21-7 |
| Q3, 0:41 | Cowboys | J. Williams, 1-yard rush | 21-14 |
| Q4, 7:31 | Giants | Dart to Singletary, 9-yard pass | 28-14 |
| Q4, 5:26 | Cowboys | Prescott to J. Williams, 17-yard pass | 28-20 |
Kicker Zvada hit all four extra points for the Giants. Cowboys kicker Aubrey made two of three. His miss after the final touchdown left Dallas down eight points instead of seven.
How Did the Giants Passing Game Perform?
The Giants passing attack played a near-perfect game. Dart threw all three of the team’s touchdown passes. Two went to Likely and one went to Singletary.
Here are the Giants passing numbers for the team:
| Giants passing stat | Result |
| Completions and attempts | 23 of 29 |
| Completion percentage | 79.3% |
| Passing yards | 230 |
| Touchdown passes | 3 |
| Interceptions | 0 |
| Passer rating | 134.2 |
| Sacks taken | 2 |
| Dropped passes | 0 |
| Average pocket time | 2.7 seconds |
New York did not turn the ball over through the air. The line gave the quarterback time, and no receiver dropped a pass.
How Did the Cowboys Passing Game Perform?
Dallas moved the ball in short chunks but struggled to push it downfield. Prescott threw both touchdown passes, one to Lamb and one to J. Williams. He also threw the Cowboys’ only interception.
| Cowboys passing stat | Result |
| Completions and attempts | 22 of 34 |
| Completion percentage | 64.7% |
| Passing yards | 175 |
| Touchdown passes | 2 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Passer rating | 84.8 |
| Sacks taken | 0 |
| Dropped passes | 2 |
| Yards per attempt | 5.1 |
The Cowboys threw 34 times for 175 yards. That low yards-per-attempt number shows why drives stalled. Two drops and three throwaways did not help.
What Happened in the Rushing Game?
The Giants ran the ball 37 times and the Cowboys ran it 18 times. That split shows who held the lead and the clock.
| Rushing stat | New York Giants | Dallas Cowboys |
| Carries | 37 | 18 |
| Rushing yards | 165 | 69 |
| Yards per carry | 4.5 | 3.8 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 1 | 1 |
| Longest run | 22 yards | 10 yards |
| Yards after contact | 85 | 36 |
| Rushing first downs | 11 | 4 |
The Giants gained 85 of their 165 rushing yards after contact. Their runners kept moving through tackles, and that wore Dallas down late.
How Did the Defenses Play?
Dallas pressured the quarterback more often. The Cowboys recorded two sacks and six quarterback hits. The Giants recorded no sacks and three hits.
| Defensive stat | New York Giants | Dallas Cowboys |
| Combined tackles | 42 | 77 |
| Sacks | 0 | 2 |
| Quarterback hits | 3 | 6 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | 4 |
| Passes defended | 3 | 2 |
| Blitzes | 5 | 12 |
| Missed tackles | 7 | 7 |
The Cowboys forced four fumbles but recovered only one. The Giants recovered the other three themselves. That is why the turnover count stayed even at one apiece.
What About Penalties, Punts, and Returns?
Both teams played a sloppy game with flags. The Giants drew 10 penalties for 114 yards. The Cowboys drew nine for 90 yards.
- Punts: The Giants punted once for 46 yards. Dallas punted twice for an average of 48 yards, and both punts landed inside the 20.
- Kick returns: Dallas returned five kickoffs for 122 yards, a 24.4 average. The Giants returned three for 65 yards.
- Field goals: Neither team attempted one. Every point came from a touchdown and an extra point.
- Extra points: The missed Cowboys kick late in the fourth quarter kept the margin at eight.
Why Did the Giants Win? Key Takeaways
The full Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats picture points to five reasons:
- Better efficiency through the air. Giants passers completed 79% of throws with no interceptions.
- A bigger workload on the ground. New York ran 37 times for 165 yards and controlled the clock.
- More plays. The Giants ran 68 plays to Dallas’s 52.
- Clean red-zone work. Dart found Likely for two short touchdowns.
- Dallas stalled on offense. The Cowboys averaged 4.7 yards per play and 5.1 yards per pass attempt.
Dallas did win some battles. The Cowboys collected more sacks and forced more fumbles. They still could not turn that pressure into a lead.
How Do You Read the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats Box Score?
Box scores use shorthand. This glossary translates the main terms into plain English.
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
| Completion percentage | Share of passes that a receiver caught |
| Passer rating | A single score for passing quality; 158.3 is a perfect game |
| Yards per attempt | Passing yards divided by throws; higher means a more productive offense |
| Yards after contact | Yards a runner or receiver gains after the first tackle attempt |
| Time of possession | How long a team holds the ball |
| Sack | A tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage |
| QB hit | A hit on the quarterback right after a throw, without a sack |
| Forced fumble | A tackle or strip that makes the ball carrier lose the ball |
| Red zone | The area inside the opponent’s 20-yard line |
Start with points, total yards, and turnovers. Then check yards per play. Those four numbers explain most NFL games.
What Comes Next for the Cowboys and Giants?
Dallas has played six games this season. Here are the Cowboys’ results after the Giants loss, taken from the official schedule data.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Sep 20 | Washington Commanders (home) | Won 37-20 |
| Sep 27 | Baltimore Ravens (home) | Lost 31-34 |
| Oct 4 | Houston Texans (away) | Won 34-30 |
| Oct 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (home) | Lost 16-24 |
| Oct 18 | Green Bay Packers (away) | Lost 13-23 |
| Oct 26 | Philadelphia Eagles (away) | Scheduled, Monday Night Football |
Those results put Dallas at 2-4 after six games, counting the Week 1 loss.
The rematch is already on the calendar. The Giants visit Dallas on January 3, 2027, with a 1:00 p.m. Eastern kickoff. Expect a fresh set of Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats from that game, and this page will be the place to compare.
Where Can You Verify the Numbers?
Trust the primary sources. Three official places publish verified numbers for every NFL game:
- NFL.com posts official game centers, play-by-play, and team stats.
- Pro Football Reference keeps full box scores and historical records for both franchises.
- Dallas Cowboys official site publishes team recaps, rosters, and injury reports.
If you check a stat line against these pages, small differences can appear. Leagues sometimes correct statistics after review, so the official NFL record always wins.
Your Next Move
You now have the complete picture of the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats from Week 1. Bookmark this page, check the official box score on NFL.com, and compare the numbers when the teams meet again on January 3. Share this guide with a fellow fan who still argues about the score.
