week 1 - Superbowl hangover: giants lose as romo shines
Giants would then beat the Falcons comfortably at home, followed by the conquering of the favourites the Packers and then a nail biting clash against the 49ers in San Francisco to travel to Lucas Oil Stadium for the Superbowl – and the rest they say is history.
Dallas therefore were looking for retribution to the disappointing end to what was a disappointing season for ‘America’s Team’. New York had rode their luck at times last year but want to prove they are the real deal.
An interception although almost led to the opening touchdown for the Giants only for a penalty grab of the neck by Tony Smith prevented a pick six of Romo. Coughlin, the oldest coach in the NFL and to win a Superbowl could only watch his team fail to make it into the end zone on short yardage and would settle for a Lawrence Tynes field goal to make it 3-0.
The first half was definitely being dominated by both team defences and Cowboy legend DaMarcus Ware reached a very special total. A sack on Manning made it his 100th of his career and in doing so, became the second fastest to reach a century only behind Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles legend Reggie White.
The Cowboys then sprung the surprise before half time with fourth year Ogletree on the end of Romo’s lofted pass after breaking out of the pocket putting the Cowboys into a surprising yet deserved half time lead.
The second half began the way in which the first half ended – Romo in complete control. The Cowboys QB was coming into his own and highlighting the fact that you should never write him off. Another breakaway TD run from Ogletree was found by Romo as Dallas made it a 2-score lead.
The Giants however did not look panicked and remained calm under the guidance of Superbowl MVP Eli Manning. This wasn’t the brushed up display we expected from Eli but he managed to drive his team forward enough to give a hand off for Bradshaw who stiff-armed his way home to make it 14-10.
With the third quarter coming to a conclusion, another good drive from Dallas ended with a field goal from Dan Bailey to put the Cowboys a touchdown ahead. However, the following quarter is what Eli calls home and still the Giants remained favourites.
And it seemed certain they would take the win back to State of Texas when Romo threw his third touchdown of the night to Miles Austin to make it 24-10 with six minutes ramining. But, as expected, Manning threw a small spanner in the works and threatened to become Mr 4th Quarter again.
Manning found Bennett who jumped high and kept his feet just in bound to score against his old team with over two minutes left on the clock. But a steady drive to the 2 minute warning, finishing with a finalk connection between Romo and Ogletree meant that the Cowboys could waste time on the clock until getting the win.
With it only week 1 its not enough to worry the G-Men just yet, but with the desperate dream team in the same division in the shape of the Philadelphia Eagles and RG3 ready to start his life in the NFL with the Washington Redskins, it could be a long difficult road back to the play offs for the Champs.
FINAL: Dallas Cowboys 24-17 New York Giants