Dallas Cowboys talk roller-coaster win over Giants: ‘They didn’t quit believing’
It was just one win, but the Dallas Cowboys coming out on top over the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon in the team’s home opener was far from the usual victory.
But with under three minutes left in regulation and Dallas leading 27-23, it didn’t appear that way. With the Russell Wilson-led Giants offense facing a fourth-and-4 from the Dallas 32-yard line, the Cowboys’ defense needed just one more stop to theoretically seal a hard-fought victory.
Little did they know, the fight was just beginning.
As he had done multiple times before Sunday, Wilson lobbed a moonshot into the AT&T Stadium air that landed in the breadbasket of a streaking Wan’Dale Robinson, who had split two defenders, for a shocking touchdown grab. Pinned against the wall, the Giants took the lead back, 30-27.
Heading back out onto the field with a little more than two minutes to recapture the lead, quarterback Dak Prescott was in a spot he had been in before. To that point in his career, he had led 25 game-winning drives in a Cowboys uniform.
“Believing in ourselves, having faith in what our ability is and what we can go there to do,” Prescott said on his message to the huddle. “I just kept telling myself that it’s been too good of a game for us on offense, you can’t [lose] like that. Stay in the process and stay in the moment. That’s what I did.”
Then, Prescott found wide receiver George Pickens.
Dak Prescott connection with George Pickens
Acquired over the offseason in a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens had yet to find his groove through seven-plus quarters in a Cowboy uniform. But on that drive, it was his time to shine.
“It was on full display,” Pickens said. “It was just me and him making plays.”
Behind multiple strong runs from running back Javonte Williams, grabs from Pickens and a pair of receptions from CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys were set up in the red zone with just under a minute to play.
On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Prescott found Pickens on a quick out route that just reached over the end zone for the go-ahead score. It was Pickens’ first as a Cowboy, timely given the circumstances, to push Dallas ahead 34-30 with 52 seconds remaining.
“Time, route and execution,” Pickens said. “I just beat him to the spot.”
“For us to come back and score again, that’s having your brothers’ back at all costs,” Prescott said. “That’s believing in your brother, believing in your teammate, not doubting yourself, this team or the culture and brotherhood we’ve built.”
Once again, the Cowboys thought they dealt the knockout blow. But once again, the Giants had a response.
Three plays later, Wilson fired yet another deep ball for the end zone that landed in a 12-inch window that only Malik Nabers could grab it. From 48 yards out, Wilson pulled off the impossible with yet another go-ahead score in the final minute to retake the lead for New York, 37-34, with 25 seconds to go.
“We knew they were going to come into this game and try to get Malik Nabers the ball,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “Malik Nabers is a hell of a player. We had two guys that were deep, but they weren’t deep enough. We got to communicate.”
Cowboys rely on Brandon Aubrey
With so little time remaining, the Cowboys once more looked down and-out. But with one of the best long-range kickers in the NFL — if not the best — on their sideline in Brandon Aubrey, hope still remained.
“We would’ve tried him from 70-ish [yards],” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve seen him make those before. He’s always like, ‘I’m good.’ The confidence that you see him kick with is incredible.”
Fortunately, he didn’t have to kick it from that far. With just a couple of plays to work with to get Aubrey within range, Prescott found tight end Jake Ferguson for an 18-yard gain that got Dallas right around the 50-yard line. After a quick 3-yard run from Williams later, time remained for just one more play.
“I knew we had to have it,” Prescott said. “[Ferguson] took it a little deeper, which was great. That was smart. I trusted him letting it go knowing he’d turn around when he got to that yardage. He did, secured it and got down.”
From 64 yards away, Aubrey’s one shot to tie the game as time expired was the third-longest attempt of his three-year career.
“I was just reminding myself that I was made for this moment,” Aubrey said. “I believe I’m the best kicker in the league, so what better spot to prove it?”
As the ball left his right foot, you could immediately tell it would be long enough. But as it swirled and hooked, the anxiety was high before it curled inside the right upright to send the game into overtime.
“He’s incredible,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s unshakable.”
Offensive struggles in overtime
In overtime, the scoring barrage that ensued in the final three minutes grounded to a halt. Three punts began the extra period — two from Dallas and one from New York — which set up the Giants for an opportunity to win the game.
To put it away, Wilson went right back to what had worked so many times before: another moonshot. But as this attempt carried in the air, Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson waited under it and corralled the ball at the Cowboys’ 30-yard line to give the ball back to the home side with two minutes left in the period.
“We got into overtime, and the defense made the plays,” Prescott said. “You’re just thankful to be out there. Stay in the moment. You’re not thinking about the end result. You’re thinking that we’re going to win. I remind myself and remind the guys to do our one-eleventh, believe in ourself and believe in our brother. If you do that, you’ll be OK with the result.”
The Cowboys’ offense quickly moved down the field to set up another attempt for Aubrey to win the game. This one, a bit easier from just a measly 46 yards away.
“It was well within the range,” Aubrey said. “We know we have a job to do. Going into that last kick, just praying for an opportunity. Once we got into range, I was just walking through my normal process, which is just focusing on the details it takes to kick a ball. I have a job to put the ball through the uprights. I just wanted to make sure I do that.”
As Aubrey trotted out onto the field, the crowd at AT&T Stadium chanted the Plano native’s name, as he looked to seal a thrilling victory with his fourth field goal of the day.
“The crowd really brings me alive,” Aubrey said. “It was great to hear it.”
The kick was a no-doubter, hitting the center of the back net behind the goalpost to give Dallas its first victory of the season and Schottenheimer his first victory as a head coach.
“I thanked [Aubrey],” Prescott said. “I think I even gave him a kiss on the forehead.”
“I’ll remember this one forever because of the fight of these guys,” Schottenheimer said. “They didn’t quit believing.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM.
