The New York Giants spent all last week marveling about the leg strength of Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey. Coach Brian Daboll, in an unusually lengthy scouting report to start his Wednesday news conference, noted that with Aubrey, “anytime you get to midfield, it’s a chance for points.”
Somehow, that focus didn’t translate to the most critical moment of Sunday’s matchup. Trailing by three points with 14 seconds remaining, the Cowboys had the ball at their own 33-yard line.
Cornerback Dru Phillips said that the pre-snap directive was not to let the Cowboys reach the 50-yard line. That was a sound plan against Aubrey, whose career-long field goal is 65 yards.
So, with all of the proper intel, it’s impossible to understand the Giants’ play call.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen called for a four-man rush with Dexter Lawrence, Chauncey Golston, Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. Phillips, linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Dane Belton lined up roughly 10 yards off the ball in the middle of the field. Cornerbacks Paulson Adebo and Cor’Dale Flott were about 10 yards off the ball on the perimeter. Safeties Tyler Nubin and Jevon Holland lined up 20 yards off the ball.
Nubin and Holland bailed inside the Giants’ 40-yard line as Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott dropped back. That made no sense, as that was way beyond the edge of Aubrey’s range, and there was no reason to defend a pass that deep, considering the situation.
The soft coverage from the defenders at the second level was more confounding. The Cowboys sent four receivers on routes that broke between Dallas’ 45-yard line and midfield. The four defensive backs at the second level all dropped into Giants’ territory — beyond the stated goal of not letting the Cowboys reach the 50-yard line.
Okereke only dropped to Dallas’ 45, but he got caught too far to the side of the field with only one receiver. So, he was late getting in the lane as Prescott fired a pass to tight end Jake Ferguson running a curl route down the middle of the field from the right slot. Ferguson turned at Dallas’ 49-yard line with Prescott’s missile already en route.
Ferguson made the catch at midfield before Phillips or Belton could converge. The tight end was tackled at New York’s 49-yard line before the Cowboys called their first timeout to stop the clock with nine seconds remaining. A run by Javonte Williams got Aubrey three yards closer, although that was unnecessary, as his 64-yard attempt reached the kicking net.
Making matters worse is that Prescott actually chose the toughest of the three options. He could have picked up similar yardage with easier throws to wide receiver George Pickens running a skinny post against Flott or to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert running a curl from the right slot.
As usual, Daboll didn’t have many answers when asked about the play on Monday beyond conceding “we’d like to be a little bit tighter” in coverage.
That breakdown in a game that saw the Giants allow 40 points and 478 yards predictably has led to fans calling for Bowen’s job. Bowen was put on notice after last season ended when co-owner John Mara said he was “tired of watching teams go up and down the field on us.”
The time to make a change was then, especially because Bowen could have found a soft landing spot with mentor Mike Vrabel in New England. But Daboll, with his ugly divorce from former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale still fresh, chose continuity (while discarding the defensive backs coaches as scapegoats).
Obviously, the defensive performance needs to improve, especially with all of the investments to upgrade that side of the ball in the offseason. But it’s hard to imagine Daboll making a change at DC anytime soon, considering how much worse his offense has been over the past two-plus seasons.
Here’s a final review of Sunday’s loss:
Over the line
Left tackle James Hudson’s opening drive meltdown was unprecedented. But if there were odds on which Giants player was most capable of committing four penalties on a drive entering the season, Hudson would have been the heavy favorite.
Hudson has been recklessly aggressive since joining the Giants on a two-year, $12 million contract this offseason. The team tried to put a positive spin on Hudson’s “edge” during training camp, but he repeatedly crossed the line in practices.
Hudson was at the root of a rare fight in organized team activities during the spring. That Hudson got the typically mild-mannered Brian Burns incensed was a red flag about the newcomer’s practice style.
Hudson’s antics continued early in training camp, as he nearly got into multiple fights with Burns and other pass rushers in practice. Hudson got under defenders’ skin by repeatedly hitting them in the head while blocking. And he antagonized teammates by getting in their faces and talking trash after nearly every 1-on-1 rep in practice.
A 1-on-1 period early in camp came to a premature end after Hudson smacked Thibodeaux in the back of the head and then jawed with the defender. With tempers rising, defensive line coach Andre Patterson gathered players from both sides and tried to rein in the dirty play.
Defenders got annoyed for the obvious reason that no one likes getting punched in the face unnecessarily. But the greater concern was that Hudson would cost the team with his out-of-control play.
“Some of the things that he does will get a flag thrown,” one Giants defender told The Athletic early in camp. “And that’s a momentum changer. That’s getting you ejected out of the game. Be about the team, not about you. What’s going to end up happening is we’re going to have first-and-(expletive)-35 because everybody keeps punching each other in the face.”
That’s exactly what unfolded on Sunday, when a 10-yard run by rookie back Cam Skattebo was negated by a personal foul on Hudson for clubbing defensive end James Houston in the back of the head. Instead of third-and-5 at Dallas’ 33-yard line, the Giants were faced with second-and-30 at their own 42.
The Giants somehow overcame that, with Russell Wilson hitting Wan’Dale Robinson for a 50-yard gain on third-and-24. That should have given the Giants first-and-goal at Dallas’ 2-yard line, but they lost 15 yards because Hudson was flagged for another unnecessary roughness penalty for pushing defensive end Sam Williams’ head into the turf after the play.
Hudson then added his second false start penalty of the drive to further put the offense in a hole, and the Giants ultimately settled for a field goal. While nothing can be assumed with the Giants’ woeful red-zone offense, it’s fair to pin a four-point swing on Hudson’s penalty moving the ball from the 2-yard line back to the 17.
Daboll said early in camp that he loves Hudson’s edge, but it was obvious the coach was aware it could be a problem.
“We got to be smart, so what’s it going to be in the fourth quarter when things get tough and somebody shoves you and pushes you? Are you able to have the emotional maturity to go ahead and focus on the next play and not get involved in that?” Daboll said. “We want that aggressive approach. We also don’t want to be throwing hands and doing things that will cost you in games.”
As has been the case throughout Daboll’s tenure, he failed to quash a disciplinary problem early. And it came back to haunt him after it mushroomed into a catastrophic problem on game day.
It would be different if Hudson was a quality player, but he has been a flop even without the extracurriculars. The Giants are stuck with him for this season, but it’s hard to see a path back to the field. The Giants are hoping Andrew Thomas can return from his prolonged absence in Week 3. If he’s not ready, they surely will stick with rookie Marcus Mbow at left tackle after his impressive performance in relief of Hudson on Sunday.
Plenty of blame to go around
Daboll described the “two types of penalties” after the game: There are the mental miscues pre-snap and the overly aggressive penalties during play.
Daboll omitted a third type of penalty: Poor coaching. That was the culprit when the Giants had 12 defenders on the field for a third-down play from New York’s 10-yard line in the second quarter.
Making matters worse, the blunder came after a timeout, which the Giants had to call because they were scrambling to get the right personnel on the field before the snap. The Giants were fortunate, temporarily, because even though they had two other penalties on the play with the too-many-men infraction, they were offset by a taunting penalty on Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
It appears Okereke was the extra man, as he was the only player missing when the defense took the field for the replayed third down that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass. Okereke, who played every snap during the 2023 season, isn’t accustomed to leaving the field. He played 87-of-89 snaps on Sunday.
It’s on the coaches to get the personnel sorted out. It’s even more inexcusable to have that type of blunder coming out of a timeout.
Usurped?
Everyone may have been focused on the wrong rookie claiming a starting job on offense. While Wilson’s performance will keep first-round pick Jaxson Dart on the bench for now, Skattebo might have already surpassed Tyrone Tracy as the top running back.
Skattebo played seven more snaps and took six more carries than Tracy on Sunday. Skattebo broke a 24-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up his first career touchdown on a 1-yard plunge. He finished with 11 carries for 45 yards and the touchdown, while adding two catches for 14 yards. Skattebo had a tough drop on a fourth-and-3 pass in the red zone in the third quarter that was late and a bit low.
Grown man run into the end zone 😤
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/7FxoAolVHB
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 14, 2025
Tracy finished with five carries for 15 yards, although he had a 24-yard run erased by a holding penalty on wide receiver Darius Slayton on the game’s opening drive. Tracy added four catches for 36 yards, but he also had a bad drop. Those happen too often for a former wide receiver.
Devin Singletary played the first two snaps of the game and then only played two more snaps. Skattebo came in on the third play of the game to convert a third-and-1 run. Then Tracy entered on the fourth play and played most of the snaps on the 16-play field-goal drive.
The delayed entrance from Tracy raised questions about possible discipline stemming from his comments questioning the play-calling in the opener. But, as noted, Daboll has not typically demonstrated a heavy hand. Daboll said Tracy didn’t start because they were giving him a breather after serving as a kick returner.
Tracy had five kickoff returns for 132 yards in place of wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who injured his ankle as a returner in the opener. Tracy returned three kickoffs as a rookie, but that role ceased once he became the No. 1 running back in Week 5.
That the Giants put Tracy back in that role suggests a reduced offensive role. Tracy averaged 86 yards rushing per game in his first six starts last season. He’s averaging 37 yards in the nine games after his hot start.
Skattebo ran with his signature bruising style, but no back will be successful until the run blocking improves.
Dart’s debut
For all of the fireworks provided by the Giants’ offense on Sunday, the red zone remains a glaring weakness. After going 0-for-2 in the opener, the Giants scored touchdowns on just 1-of-5 trips inside Dallas’ 20-yard line. The red zone trips ended in Skattebo’s 1-yard TD run, three Graham Gano field goals and a turnover on downs.
Now that the Giants have unveiled their Dart package, using the more mobile quarterback in the red zone seems like an obvious next step. Dart ran zone-read on all three of his snaps, which came on a first-and-10 and two second-and-1’s.
Twice he handed off and once he kept the ball, slipping for a 3-yard loss before Wilson delivered a 32-yard touchdown strike to Robinson on fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter. The impact of having a rushing threat at quarterback was obvious on Skattebo’s 24-yard run, as the linebackers flowed with Dart to open a huge hole up the middle.
The Giants have been prepared to insert Dart in each game this season, so it’s interesting that Daboll decided to pull the trigger with Wilson playing well on Sunday after keeping the rookie on the bench while the offense sputtered in the opener. There obviously are no questions about the starting quarterback for Week 3 after Wilson’s 450-yard, three-touchdown outburst, but Dart figures to be sprinkled into each game.
The Mbow show
The Giants’ pass protection was the unsung hero of the game. They allowed three sacks and 13 pressures. That was a significant improvement after allowing two sacks and 24 pressures against Washington in Week 1.
One of the sacks Sunday was Hudson’s fault during his reign of terror during the opening drive. Otherwise, there was a sack in the second quarter when the pocket collapsed against a blitz and the odd play in overtime when the ball slipped out of Wilson’s hand for a 14-yard loss that was scored as a sack.
Mbow was excellent, especially considering he’s a fifth-round rookie who played right tackle in college and was inserted at left tackle on the second series of the second game of his career. The Giants’ recent past has shown how overwhelmed a backup tackle can look when pressed into action, but Mbow was so solid that they didn’t need to alter their entire offensive plan to support him.
As encouraging as Mbow’s debut was, the Giants will gladly send him back to the bench if that means Thomas returns. Having a quality young swing tackle would be a welcome luxury — and, really, necessity — for this season. The Giants need to feel good about the possibility of Mbow stepping in at right tackle next season if they’re priced out on impending free agent Jermaine Eluemunor.
A concern on the offensive line is the health of left guard Jon Runyan. Runyan said he felt “a little, like, crack” in his back on the opening drive of the game. He finished the game, but was in pain afterward. His status bears monitoring this week. Right guard Greg Van Roten was also spotted getting attention from trainers on the sideline during the game.
(Photo: Raymond Carlin III/ Imagn Images)
