Yesterday I kicked off the New York Giants segment in my series of the top three Dallas Cowboys wins versus their division rivals.
Number three on the list was an unexpected win during a season where nothing seemed to be going right.
A win like that may seem meaningless, but it kicked off the Jason Garrett regime in Dallas.
You can read about it here.
We move on to number two on the list, and this flashback takes us to 2015.
Romo to Witten Seals Week 1 Victory
When: September 13, 2015
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Final Score: DAL 27, NYG 26
Back Story
The 2014 season ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Dallas Cowboys.
You know it as the “Dez caught it” game, and true Cowboys fans still have pain in their hearts when it gets mentioned.
A new brand of football arrived in Dallas during that 2014 season.
Gone were the days of relying on Tony Romo to run around in the backfield where he was more likely to get injured.
The Cowboys drafted Zack Martin 14th overall out of Notre Dame University.
He brought toughness to a line that quickly became the best offensive line in football.
They were even given the nickname “The Great Wall of Dallas II”.
With the most complete team around him since his first full season as a starter in 2007, Romo finished third in NFL MVP voting.
You can imagine the expectations for 2015 after a 12-4 campaign in 2014 that had Dallas one play away from the NFC Championship game.
Those expectations only grew after the thrilling last second win to open the season.
As for the Giants, they were excited for a new season after finishing 6-10 in 2014.
After winning the Super Bowl in the 2011 season, New York entered 2015 without a playoff appearance since.
Head Coach Tom Coughlin was on the hot seat despite two Super Bowl wins in the past eight years.
New York would need to make the playoffs to save Coughlin’s job.
Let’s get down to business and talk about this big Cowboys win.
Game Summary
Dallas won the toss, and immediately started the season with a 19 play, clock controlling drive.
Just the type of drive that they became famous for the year before.
It ended in a Dan Bailey field goal to open the scoring and give Dallas a 3-0 lead.
New York answered with a field goal of their own to end the 1st quarter tied 3-3.
After exchanging punts, WR Cole Beasley caught a pass from Romo, but fumbled the ball away.
It was scooped up by the Giants’ Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and returned for a touchdown.
On the first play of the next possession, Romo and the Cowboys once again turned the ball over.
This time an interception on a pass intended for TE Jason Witten.
New York couldn’t punch it into the endzone, but did kick a field goal to end the half with a 13-6 lead.
The Giants received the 2nd half kickoff, and marched down the field for another successful field goal attempt and a 16-6 advantage.
On the ensuing drive, the Cowboys finally got into the endzone on a two yard touchdown pass from Romo to the late Gavin Escobar. Rest in peace.
Escobar’s touchdown catch brought the Cowboys to within three points, 16-13.
After exchanging punts on three straight drives, the Cowboys again turned the ball over.
Giants CB Trumaine McBride jumped a Romo pass for an interception, returning it to the Dallas one yard line.
RB Rashad Jennings powered his way in on the very next play.
The touchdown gave the Giants a 23-13 lead with 8:09 left in regulation.
Now in hurry up mode down double digits, Romo went 6-6 on a six play drive that ended with a one yard touchdown pass to Witten.
The Giants, still up 23-20, took over at their own 20 yard line with 5:08 left on the clock.
Manning began to milk the clock, extending the drive by converting two big 3rd down plays.
The second one being the biggest.
A 16 yard completion to Odell Beckham Jr. on 3rd & 14 from the Cowboys 20 yard line right at the two minute warning.
The Cowboys defense now needed to stop the Giants from scoring starting with a 1st & goal from the four yard line.
Two rushes by Jennings placed the ball at the one yard line, and the Giants facing 3rd & goal.
Dallas’ timeouts were all spent, and only 1:43 remained on the clock.
One more rush attempt for the endzone would either result in a touchdown or a field goal attempt with under 50 seconds left.
The Giants inexplicably called a pass play.
With nobody open, Manning threw the ball out of the back of the endzone, stopping the clock.
Josh Brown’s field goal was good, but New York left Romo with almost a full minute more on the clock than if they had ran the ball.
The Cowboys’ game winning drive would start from their own 28 with 1:29 left in regulation.
Romo completed four of five passes, including big gains of 16 and 24 yards to RB Lance Dunbar.
Set up with a 3rd & 2 from the Giants 11 yard line with :17 left, the two BFFs made a play.
The shotgun snap was fumbled by Romo.
He scooped it up, looked up, and fired a pass to Witten at the goal line. Touchdown!
The extra point is good, giving the Cowboys the 27-26 win.
Season Results
The Cowboys received some unfortunate news in the immediate aftermath of the win.
Star WR Dez Bryant suffered a broken bone in his foot that would force him to miss five games.
The misfortune continued the very next week in Philadelphia after Romo suffered a broken collarbone.
The rest of the season was a quarterback carousel for Dallas.
Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, and Kellen Moore all saw playing time.
Romo even returned prematurely from injury, winning a game in Miami, but breaking his collarbone once again the following week against Carolina.
The Cowboys finished 4-12 on the season. Their worst finish since 1989.
The Giants would go on to finish 6-10, and miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Tom Coughlin was fired.