How the Dallas Cowboys routed the New York Giants 40-0 in the Sunday Night NFL opener

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants, 44-0, on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The dominant performance continued the trend of Cowboys’ victories over the Giants. Dallas has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two teams.

Highlights, comments, video embeds and more from the opening game. All notes are in reverse chronological order of game action:

Final Game stats

COWBOYS: Dak Prescott is 13 of 24 for 143 yards; Tony Pollard has a team-high 70 rushing yards on 14 carries; CeeDee Lamb has four catches for 77 receiving yards.

GIANTS: Daniel Jones is 15 of 28 for 104 yards and 2 INTs; Saquon Barkley has 12 rushes for 51 yards; Darren Waller has three catches for 36 yards.

The Cowboys sacked Jones seven times and forced the Giants into three turnovers throughout the game.

Fourth quarter

NYG 12th poss. starts at NYG 32: The final drive of the game ends with the Giants in possession.

DAL 9th poss. starts at NYG 38: The Cowboys turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-four opportunity.

NYG 11th poss. starts at NYG 19: The Cowboys’ defense gets another sack and the Giants turn the ball over on downs.

DAL 8th poss. starts at DAL 37: Cowboys put Cooper Rush in at quarterback with a 40-point lead and 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys go three-and-out and punt the ball back to the Giants.

NYG 10th poss. starts at NYG 25: The Giants turnover issues continue with an Isaiah Hodgins fumble forced by Trevon Diggs which was recovered by Israel Mukuamu for the Cowboys.

DAL 7th poss. starts at DAL 50: Cowboys take over the ball at midfield and score eight plays later on a KaVontae Turpin seven-yard touchdown run. Dallas Cowboys lead 40-0.

Third quarter

NYG 9th poss. starts at NYG 20: The Giants offense continues to flounder and turns the ball over on downs at midfield.

DAL 6th poss. starts at DAL 36: The Cowboys offense sputters and they are forced to punt on fourth down.

NYG 8th poss. starts at NYG 25: Dorance Armstrong notches the Cowboys’ sixth sack of the game to force a Giants punt.

DAL 5th poss. starts at DAL 25: Cowboys march down the field on a 75-yard touchdown drive, punctuated by a Pollard one-yard touchdown run. Cowboys lead 33-0.

Dallas received the second-half kickoff.

Halftime stat check

COWBOYS: Dak Prescott is 7 of 14 for 91 yards; Tony Pollard has a team-high 17 rushing yards; CeeDee Lamb has 49 receiving yards, all on one play.

GIANTS: Daniel Jones is 5 of 13 for 43 yards and 2 INTs; Saquon Barkley has 11 rushes for 33 yards; Darren Waller has three catches for 33 yards.

The Cowboys have sacked Jones four times.

Second quarter

NYG 7th poss. starts at NYG 29: An incomplete pass, a sack ends the half.

DAL 4th poss. starts at DAL 26: Three-and-out and Cowboys punt ball to Giants. 42 seconds left in half.

NYG 6th poss. starts at NYG 25: Giants put together an extended drive, but it stalls at DAL 18. Giants drive ends when Graham Gano misses a 36-yard field goal wide left with 1:05 remaining in the half.

DAL 3rd poss. starts at the NYG 38: Another possession, another score. Tony Pollard caps a 5-play, 38-yard drive, scoring on a Tony Pollard 1-yard run. Aubrey adds the extra point. Cowboys lead 26-0 with 8:03 left in the half.

NYG 5th poss. starts at NYG 25: Another Cowboys’ big defensive play as Stephon Gilmore intercepts Daniel Jones at the NYG 38 with 10:48 left in the half.

DAL 2nd poss. continues at DAL 18: Aided by a 37-yard pass interference penalty, Cowboys march the field and get on the scoreboard again. This time drive stalls at the NYG 20. Brandon Aubrey boots 38-yard field goal to extend lead to 19-0 with 10:55 left in the half.

First quarter

DAL 2nd poss. starts at DAL 20: Tony Pollard loses two yards on the final play of the quarter. COWBOYS lead 16-0

NYG 4th poss. starts at NYG 25: Giants go 3-and-out. Punt to the DAL 11, returned to DAL 20. Total domination by Cowboys so far. 21 seconds left in the quarter.

NYG 3rd poss. starts at NYG 25: More big plays by the Cowboys. This time, Daron Bland returns an interception for 22 yards and a touchdown. This time, Brandon Aubrey makes the extra point and the Cowboys lead 16-0 with 2:22 left in the quarter. First time in Cowboys’ history that the first two TDs in the season scored by defense & special teams.

DAL 1st poss. starts at DAL 26: Cowboys extend their lead to 9-0. Big play on the drive was a 49-yard connection from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb. Brandon Aubrey made up for his earlier extra-point miss with a 21-yard field goal with 3:21 left in the quarter.

NYG 2nd poss. starts at NYG 25: 3-and-out with the drive ending on Micah Parsons’ first sack of the season. Punt to DAL 26

NYG 1st poss. starts at NYG 25: Aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, the Giants march down the field to the DAL 8. However, a false start and a fumbled snap stalls the drive at the DAL 27, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt. The field goal is blocked by Thomas and returned 58 yards by Noah Igbinoghene for a Dallas touchdown. Brandon Aubrey’s first NFL extra point is wide left. Cowboys lead 6-0 with 8:03 left in the quarter.

Coin flip

Cowboys won the toss. The New York Giants will receive the opening kickoff.

NFC East update

Philadelphia and Washington won their opening games. Thus, the winner of tonight’s game will be in a three-way lead atop the NFC East.

Philadelphia held off a late New England rally, beating the Patriots, 25-20. Washington beat Arizona, 20-16.

Pregame reads

▪ Clarence Hill: What to watch in the Cowboys-Giants game.

▪ Clarence Hill: Why was Dak Prescott knocked out and sedated for 11 hours? Answer may surprise you

▪ Clarence Hill’s commentary: Why it’s time to believe the Dallas Cowboys will break their 28-year Super Bowl drought

▪ Mac Engel commentary: The Dallas Cowboys will return to the playoffs, and do the same thing they always do

▪ Mac Engel commentary: ‘Dallas Cowboys head coach Deion Sanders’ is just so dumb, you have to consider it

How to watch

The game will be broadcast on NBC.

It can also be streamed on the NBC Sports app or website.