The New York Giants looked flat and consequently were fattened by the Dallas Cowboys, 24-17, in the 2012 season opener on Wednesday, September 5 at MetLife Stadium. The defending Super Bowl champions shouldn't blame it on injuries, the replacement referees or bad luck. They just got beat. But it's a long season. And the Giants have a long week ahead of them to correct the mistakes they made against Dallas -- trust me, they'll need the extra time. Let's take a look back at what went wrong for the G-Men in the team's week one report card.
Offense -- Dallas' defense did an outstanding job, but we're grading the Giants, so let's break down what went wrong for Big Blue --- where to start? Eli Manning, who normally carves up the Cowboys, only threw for 213 yards and one touchdown. Three drops by Victor Cruz didn't help. The Giants blew a golden opportunity to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when Michael Boley's interception return set them up with first-and-goal from the one. New York settled for a field goal (thanks for nothing, O-line). Manning engineered a 79-yard scoring drive late in the fourth, but it was too late. Grade: D+
Defense -- The Giants' worst fears came to fruition, as Tony Romo took aim at their depleted secondary. He completed 22 of 39 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns. The Giants had no answer for Kevin Ogletree, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns, or DeMarco Murray (131 rushing yards). Miles Austin put the game away by hauling in a 34-yard touchdown with 5:57 remaining to make it 24-10. Overall, the Cowboys rolled up 433 yards of offense. Grade: D
Special Teams -- It was a quiet night for the special teams, as Lawrence Tynes booted a short field goal and Steve Weatherford had four punts for an average of 50.3 yards. In the second quarter, the Giants missed a chance to pin the Cowboys inside their five-yard line, but they couldn't down the ball before it went into the end zone. The lackluster return game remains a concern. Grade: C
Coaching -- So is Coughlin on the hot seat yet? I'm kidding, of course. Yes, the Giants came out flat in their home opener (it's not the first time), but injuries to the secondary compromised the team and the Cowboys took advantage of it -- you can't blame the coaches for that. Let's see how New York responds next week at home against a team it should beat. We've seen Coughlin rally the troops many times before. Grade: C
Next Marking Period -- The Giants host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 16 at Metlife Stadium (1:00 p.m. EST). The Giants defeated the Buccaneers in their last meeting, 24-0, on September 27, 2009 and lead the all-time series, 12-6.
Adam Martini is a freelance sports writer who proudly wears his Rodney Hampton jersey on Sundays during the football season. He grew up in Queens, N.Y. rooting for the Giants despite being surrounded by Jets fans. Adam follows back Giants fans on Twitter @PegCitySports.
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