3 standouts (and 2 duds) in Cowboys blowout win vs Giants

What a difference a year makes. At this same point in 2022, it felt as though the wheels were falling off for the Dallas Cowboys. They were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even lost Dak Prescott to an injury. Sure, they turned things around, even thriving with Cooper Rush under center, but it was a bleak feeling after one game.

Now in 2023, they're flying high after a 40-0 statement win over the New York Giants.

Dallas went into MetLife Stadium and completely dominated their divisional rivals. They scored on offense, defense, and special teams and had the game wrapped up in the second quarter.

Now, the Cowboys are 1-0 and will be preparring for a showdown with the New York Jets in Week 2. For us, we can take the time to look back at this one and identify three standouts and two duds from the victory.

Cowboys standout: Juanyeh Thomas, S

Undrafted out of Georgia Tech, Juanyeh Thomas spent his rookie season on the Cowboys practice squad. Now in year two, he was a standout in the preseason, even picking off Trevor Lawrence in their first game against the Jaguars.

Thomas then made the 53-man roster and we saw quickly that he wasn't a bottom-of-the-roster player. Instead, he was on the field often and made his share of plays right out of the gate.

After already showing he was great in coverage, even knocking down a pass intended for Darren Waller, Thomas made a momentum-changing play on special teams. New York was stopped in the red zone and Graham Gano had to attempt a 45-yard field goal but Thomas jumped into the backfield and blocked the kick.

It was recovered by Noah Igbinoghene, who ran it back 58 yards for a touchdown to give Dallas the lead 6-0.

Thomas was asked to step up with Donovan Wilson out — as was Markquese Bell. Both played exceptionally well with Thomas making the splash plays that will be seen on highlight reels.

Cowboys Dud: Jake Ferguson, TE

Dallas decided this offseason to let Dalton Schultz walk, which was an understandable move. A former fourth-round pick, Schultz did become a huge weapon in their offense and was a security blanket for Dak Prescott. But he was also ready to break the bank and they had to make some tough decisions.

In the end, they allowed the Houston Texans the opportunity to pay him more than $9 million and Dallas went with Jake Ferguson as the starter and drafted Luke Schoonmaker in the second round.

Ahead of this game, Prescott was praising Ferguson, saying he was set to have a big season. And No. 4 gave him the chance to make good on that as well by targeting him early and often.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of success. On seven targets from Prescott, Ferguson had just two receptions for 11 yards. He also dropped two passes, including one in the red zone early in the fourth quarter. Dallas wound up scoring on that drive anyway with KaVontae Turpin taking a handoff and running it in from seven yards out in the very next play, but it wasn't an encouraging start for Ferguson.

Having said all that, the passing game really wasn't featured in Week 1 the way we should expect going forward. With their defense and special teams scoring, the offense was really just playing it safe and controlling the clock. That means Ferguson will get his chance to redeem himself — and likely will do just that.

Cowboys Standout: Micah Parsons, LB

New York started out hot on offense, moving the ball down to the Dallas eight — but that's when things started to fall apart. Facing a manageable third-and-two, the Giants had to walk it back five yards when Andrew Thomas was called for a false start.

In 2022, Thomas wasn't flagged once for a false start but in this one, he seemed a little jumpy with Micah Parsons across from him. Thomas tried to get a jump on No. 11 and that made it a third-and-seven. On the ensuing play, the ball was snapped past Daniel Jones, and Parsons was credited with the tackle after chasing down the quarterback and touching him while he was down.

On the following drive, Parsons got his first sack of the season, breaking through the line on third-and-10, pushing them back another 10 yards and forcing a punt.

Parsons continued to impact the game, helping force a turnover in the second quarter. With Dallas up 19-0, he was pressuring Jones who tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. That pass, however, ended up being picked off by Stephon Gilmore, giving them the ball back with an already commanding 19-0 lead.

The whole defense was on fire but it was clear that the attention Parsons commands helped everyone else thrive as well.

Cowboys Dud: Peyton Hendershot, TE

On the Cowboys first drive of the third quarter, they moved right down the field looking to extend their 26-0 lead. At the New York 19, Dak Prescott dropped back on second-and-six and threw an absolute dime to backup tight end Peyton Hendershot.

There were defenders in the area but Prescott put it where only his guy could haul it in, and Hendershot had both hands on the ball. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to haul it in as the pass slipped right through his fingers and hit the turf.

Dallas did still go in for a touchdown but nearly had a major gaffe on the ensuing play. On third-and-six. Prescott dumped off a screen pass for Tony Pollard who gained the first down but then fumbled the ball. Tyler Biadasz was there to recover, which was the way things went all night for Dallas. Two plays later, Pollard was running the ball in from one-yard out to give his team the 33-0 lead with just over 10 minutes to go.

As a rookie in 2022, Hendershot had 11 receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He was hopeful he would get more chances in 2023 with Dalton Schultz in Houston but was overshadowed by John Stephens, Jr. and might have only made it as the third tight end thanks to Stephens being injured in the preseason.

Hendershot isn't likely to get many opportunities this year and this was a golden one that he let slip right through his grasp.

Cowboys Standout: Osa Odighizuwa, DT

It's hard to single out any one player on the defensive line for Dallas because they were all fantastic in Week 1. Daniel Jones never had any time to pass as he was sacked seven times on the night. It could have been more if not for his speed, which allowed him to take off and run to the line of scrimmage or maybe even gain a yard or two before going down.

Either way, he spent the majority of the game picking grass out of his face mask and it wasn't just the big-name players that got after him.

Sure, it was expected that Micah Parsons would hang out in the backfield as would DeMarcus Lawrence. Even Dorance Armstrong — who had 8.5 sacks in 2022 — and Dante Fowler, Jr. — who had six — were expected to get into the backfield. But one player who wasn't getting much attention heading into this one is Osa Odighizuwa, the third-year defensive tackle from UCLA.

Odighizuwa had two sacks as a rookie in 2021 and doubled that with four last season. Against the Giants, he already has half the total he put up in 2022, recording two sacks on Jones.

What was most impressive was the versatility he showed. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Odighizuwa rushed from his normal 3-tech spot but also moved to the edge more than once and was able to get into the backfield.

This defense is deep and talented and that leads to Odighizuwa being forgotten about, but that won't remain the case with a few more games like he had in Week 1.

There were many more standouts that deserve to be praised, including Trevon Diggs who forced two turnovers, including the touchdown for DaRon Bland, which happened when he drilled Saquon Barkley causing him to cough up an easy catch. It was a thrilling Week 1 win and should help the team carry some confidence into their home opener next week.

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