The swing that decided Dallas' season opener lasted less than a minute and started with a throw Dak Prescott was trying to waste.
With under two minutes left in the first half and the score tied 7-7, Quinnen Williams had punched the ball free from Tyrone Tracy and Shavon Revel had recovered, giving the Cowboys the ball at their own 16, DallasCowboys.com reported. Under pressure, Prescott scrambled right and tried to heave the ball out of bounds.
Instead, Jevon Holland slid to the interception near the New York 45 with 49 seconds left, Reuters reported.
Twenty-nine seconds later, Jaxson Dart hit Isaiah Likely for a 15-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead. New York then received the second-half kickoff and drove 74 yards in 12 plays for another Likely score. Schottenheimer called the sequence a "double dip" on the club site: the Giants scored before the half and again to open the third.
Why the throwaway mattered
Schottenheimer said Prescott "was trying to throw it away, and he didn't get enough on it." The momentum cost was larger than one interception. Dallas had finally forced a turnover after missing earlier chances, the team recap noted.
The offense never got a chance to turn that takeaway into points. Instead, confusion on the ensuing Giants possession left receivers uncovered on three straight Dart completions, the last to Likely alone in the back of the end zone.
Prescott finished 22 of 34 for 175 yards, two touchdowns and the one pick, per Reuters. He later found CeeDee Lamb for the first Cowboys touchdown and Javonte Williams for the late score that made it 28-20. The halftime mistake did not erase those drives. It did change the math of a game New York already intended to control with long possessions.
Time and field position after the tip
Reuters detailed the Giants' third-quarter march: all five of Dart's passes completed for 49 yards on an 8:01 drive. Dallas answered with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of its own, but by then the deficit was two scores and the clock belonged to New York. The Cowboys' official recap emphasized that Dallas had only two second-half possessions despite scoring on both.
