East Rutherford, NJ - The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants wanted to pick up right where they left off last year when they faced division rivals Dallas Cowboys Wednesday night in front of the largest sold out (82,849) crowd at MetLife Stadium. Unfortunately, the offense looked like they were still in pre-season mode and the defense gave up too many big plays in losing 24-17 to open up the 2012 football season.

After both teams went three and out in their initial possession, the Giants, starting on their own 13 behind Eli Manning (he completed 3 passes for 53 yards) gets down to the Dallas 29 yard line. Rookie running back David Wilson running left fumbles killing the drive. Wilson, sat alone at his locker after the game clearly upset at his overall performance.

"I don't think this day could have been any worse," he started. "I did bad, I fumbled and then we lost." The Cowboys failed to take advantage of the New York miscue as they attempted a 4th and 1 run that was snuffed by Antrel Roll.

The first time Dallas got the ball in the second quarter, it led to the only New York lead of the night. With Tony Romo in the shotgun looking for Kevin Ogletree, Romo's pass sails over Ogletree's head and is intercepted by linebacker Michael Boley at the 47. Boley scampers down to the Dallas second yard line before getting tackled horse collar style resulting in a penalty and placing the ball on the one-yard line. Didn't matter as running back Ahmad Bradshaw loses three yards on the first two rushing attempts. Manning then throws an incomplete to Victor Cruz and they settle for a 22-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The short yard running game that haunted them all of last year once again prevented them from scoring a touchdown.

Said head coach Tom Coughlin "we had been very good in goal line sequences against Dallas. I don't know whether the scheme flattened us out. That wasn't a great way to start."

New York's defense continued to play well until the waning moments of the first half. Dallas began at its own 27 with 3:34 remaining. Seven plays and 73 yards later, Romo finds Ogletree for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Romo completed 5 passes for 60 yards during the drive. The Cowboys took the lead they would never give back.
The Cowboys extended the lead in the third quarter as Romo and the offense slowed the Giants pass rush with quick passes. Romo would connect with Ogletree again as he gets behind cornerback Corey Webster, this time for a 40-yard touchdown pass. The nine-play, 80-yard score put Dallas up by 11 (14-3). Ogletree would end his night with 8 catches for 118 yards and the 2 touchdowns. Bradshaw closes the gap to four (14-10) after his 10-yard run caps a nine-play, 89-yard drive. Dallas ended the third quarter with a 33 yard Dan Bailey field goal (17-10), as the Giants looked to continue a winning streak in which teams have won the Super Bowl since 1999 won the opening game the following year. It would not happen.

With Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara out with a leg injury, Michael Coe took his place in the starting line-up. Coe would pull his hamstring in the fourth quarter and his replacement Justin Tyron was victimized by Romo for what turned out to be the Cowboys final touchdown. Changing the play at the line of scrimmage, Romo throws a pass to Miles Austin as he gets behind Tyron. Austin pulls the pass down and races into the end zone for the 34-yard score.

Manning finds ex-Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett with a nine-yard touchdown pass with 2:42 left and had one more opportunity to get the ball back. Dallas faced a third down and 12 situations on their own 34 after a holding penalty. Tyron gets victimized once again giving up a 13-yard catch to Ogletree.

Dallas gave the Super Bowl champions plenty of chances to win the game as they were penalized 13 times for 86 yards. The normally reliable Victor Cruz struggled as he dropped 3 passes that would have given his team first downs.

"We gave ourselves a chance there at the end of the game. We just took way too much time for us to score," said Coughlin. "We certainly are capable of playing much better."

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