Before empty seats, Cowboys flash best version of themselves against Giants

Although the “party pass” areas on Sunday evening were jammed for the Dallas Cowboys’ home opener, Jerry’s Night Club featured actual empty seats in the corners of the end zone.

Enough empty seats that they could be seen from virtually any spot inside the stadium.

For a home opener.

They’re empty because those seats ain’t cheap, and because no matter how badly the people want to see the Cowboys win, not everyone is drinking Ignorantly Optimistic flavored Ensure just yet.

After Sunday evening, we only know the Cowboys are a better team than the New York Giants; there is a good chance Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School is, too.

The Cowboys opened their game against mighty Big Blue looking like the version they want us all to believe is the best “version of themselves,” and capable of “living their best life.”

The play calling was inventive, at least early, and the Cowboys defeated the Giants 20-13. Your Dallas Cowboys are now in first place in the NFC East.

Expect this thing to be all over the place for the short term, and potentially for the next several months.

After two weeks it’s difficult to assess what the Cowboys actually are, but we should all feel good that their defense is the best it’s been in the Jason Garrett era.

The Cowboys sacked the quarterback six times on Sunday night, including four times in the first half.

Yes, said quarterback is Eli Manning, who even in his younger years routinely flashed the quickness of a broken tractor stuck in mud. And his offensive line couldn’t block a quartet of pass rushers named Jerry, Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry Jr.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is the team’s best player, and playing so well right now he may be made an honorary Jones. The Giants could not handle Tank at any point.

The Giants openly defense dared quarterback Dak Prescott to beat them with his arm, and he did early with a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin on the game’s third play.

“It was all about showing the coaches that we can do it,” Austin said. “And the coaches let us loose.”

What a novelty.

Dak’s ball was perfectly thrown to the former top 10 pick, whom the team acquired in the offseason from the Rams, and effectively ignored in their Week 1 loss at Carolina.

At least offensive coordinator Scott Linehan didn’t blew off Austin for two weeks in a row.

That play was highlight for Dak, who completed passes to seven different receivers but did not go over 200 yards for the night.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott averaged well over four yards per carry, and just missed a few long runs on multiple attempts. He was so close from breaking several big runs.

“There were a couple of runs I wish I could have back,” Elliott said. “We were more disciplined early in our drives; we were able to play our football and wear them out.”

The offense was rather ish after Dak’s opening bomb to Austin; even though the team finally played former Baylor basketball player Rico Gathers, they still don’t have a tight end they like.

No matter, the Giants offense didn’t cross midfield until midway through the third quarter. The only Giants drive of note was their fourth quarter touchdown march after Cowboys took 20-3 lead.

When the game mattered, the Giants could not do much of anything against the Cowboys defense.

As well as Tank and linebacker Jaylon Smith played, know that Damien Wilson had a good night. Know that he’s a player, and the Cowboys are deep at linebacker.

The same at defensive end, and specifically Taco Charlton; the former first round pick in 2017 had a sack, recovered a fumble, and was noticeable all game. As invisible as Taco was as a rookie, he has been equally as visible since the start of training camp.

Virtually every Cowboy looked and played considerably better than their Week 1 slumber party in Charlotte when no one could do anything. Brett Maher even made some kicks, too.

A win against a bad Giants team should not convince anyone of anything just yet, but maybe it’s enough the empty seats that existed on Sunday night will be sold and filled for the next home game.

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 10:25 PM.