New York Giants Studs and Duds vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 1

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings (23) tosses the ball after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants suffered an excruciating loss to NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. They were unable to get anything going offensively and just couldn’t get out of their own way as execution was not at it’s finest.

So a game that was expected to be high scoring and explosive turned out to be rather sloppy and slow at times until the very end when the Cowboys kicked it into gear. Unfortunately the Giants were never able to get their offense out of neutral, and the Cowboys were able to pick up a come from behind victory on the arm of Tony Romo.

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Despite the ugliness of the game at times, there were still some positives for the Giants to take away from the game. For example, the Giants run defense stepped up big time against a dominant Cowboys offensive line, and they were able to keep the explosive offense relatively in check.

But, there were also some struggles on the evening, namely the offense. The offense was expected to be the calling card of the Giants for the season, but in Week 1 it was far from that. They were unable to get into any rhythm and were stagnant all night against an underwhelming Cowboys defense.

Who were those players? Check out our list of studs and duds for the Giants in their Week 1 loss to the Cowboys.

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants cornerback D. Rodgers-Cromartie (41) returns a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara: Stud

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara had the toughest jobs on the evening of any Giant players; slow down the explosive Cowboys passing attack. That is a tall task, but it was one that they were up for throughout the evening.

The duo was responsible for covering Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams for the night and did a magnificent job. They were able to limit the long gains by forcing them to the middle of the field, where their help was and away from the boundaries. This helped them to avoid giving up the long play, as Bryant’s long was only 18 yards, while Williams’ was 21.

The highlight of the evening for Rodgers-Cromartie though was the touchdown he had on a fumble return. The Giants forced a fumble on Cole Beasley, and Rodgers-Cromartie picked up and returned it to the house 57-yards to put the Giants ahead 10-6.

On the evening, Rodgers-Cromartie racked up six tackles and one pass deflected to go along with the touchdown he had. Amukamara put his nose into the run game, picking up eight tackles in addition to his stellar defense on the perimeter.

Next: Offensive Struggles