It didn’t take long for the Giants to miss Andrew Thomas. His replacement, James Hudson, was all-time bad to start Sunday's game. Bad enough that he drew four penalties, culminating in his ranting on the sideline after he got benched.
What started as the funniest moment of the night didn’t stay that way for long. The Dallas Cowboys’ secondary got torched repeatedly, and the laughs quickly turned to groans. The Giants racked up a stunning 21 penalties, including 14 accepted for 160 yards, setting a franchise record in their 100-year history.
Teams rarely win with as many penalties as the Giants had, and the Cowboys shouldn’t have needed overtime to survive it. They nearly found themselves on the wrong side of history.
Cowboys need to look in the mirror after Week 2 escape
Only two teams in NFL history have won a game despite committing 21 or more penalties. The 1951 Browns pulled it off against the Bears. The Buccaneers went even further in a win over the Raiders, surviving 23 flags and still coming out on top
And that’s just the accepted penalties. The Giants broke their own franchise record for flags, and yet the Cowboys still needed overtime to escape. That alone should have Dallas fans worried.
The defensive secondary has to get better in a hurry. Wan'Dale Robinson and Malik Nabers burned the Cowboys with some deep bombs from Russell Wilson all game, including several times in the fourth quarter, and that contributed to the majority of why Dak Prescott couldn't take off his Superman cape.
The Cowboys were dangerously close to starting 0-2, a disaster given how sharp contenders like the Packers have looked. Brandon Aubrey’s heroics saved them, but the defense left plenty to worry about. This game never should’ve gone to overtime, especially with the Giants handing over 160 penalty yards and setting a franchise record in the process.