Russell Wilson ruins magnificent day with INT in Giants' wild OT loss to Cowboys
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson throws a pass under pressure from Dallas Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku in the second half of an NFL game Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Jeffrey McWhorter
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Giants and Cowboys met 126 times before Sunday. The 127th edition was a worthy addition to the rivalry and a painful one for the Giants.
Brandon Aubrey’s 46-yard field goal as time expired in overtime sent the Giants to a 40-37 defeat in a thriller that featured two touchdowns and a field goal in the final minute of regulation.
Russell Wilson nearly had a hero moment to atone for a bad debut. His go-ahead 48-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers with 25 seconds left in regulation had the Giants celebrating, but the 37-34 lead was short-lived as Aubrey kicked a tying 64-yard field goal as time expired.
Any hope left was snuffed when Wilson threw an interception in overtime. Despite 506 yards of offense, the Giants had to watch another team celebrate in a thriller they couldn’t enjoy.
“This one hurts,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Guys battled for 60-plus minutes, so this one hurts.”
After a middling Giants debut last week, Wilson turned back the clock to his Seahawks days. He threw his deep ball for big plays to multiple targets. The Giants’ offense looked dynamic after scoring six points in the season-opening loss to the Commanders.
Wilson was 30-for-41 for 450 yards — two shy of his career high — and three touchdowns, but his last pass proved costly. Facing pressure, he heaved the ball downfield for Nabers, but Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson made an easy interception to set up the winning drive.
“There is nobody I trust more,” Wilson said of Nabers. “Just a little miscommunication, but we’re all on the same page. But he had an unbelievable game. It was a special game. Took a shot. It didn’t work out.”
The teams totaled 41 fourth-quarter points. The Cowboys scored twice in the final minute, sandwiching Wilson’s touchdown pass to Nabers, who had nine catches for 167 yards and two scores.
The ending, though, felt familiar for the Giants (0-2). They’ve lost nine straight to the Cowboys (1-1) and eight straight NFC East games overall. It’s also their second straight 0-2 start.
Dak Prescott, who has beaten the Giants in 14 straight starts, gave the Cowboys a 34-30 lead with 52 seconds left on a 6-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens. It took Wilson only three plays to respond as he launched the ball to Nabers, who caught it over his shoulder as Kaiir Elam made contact with his visor, obscuring his view of the ball.
Nabers and Wilson were mobbed at opposite ends of the field. Nabers did NBA superstar Stephen Curry’s “night night” celebration by putting his head on his hands like a pillow. His words, however, conveyed something different.
“I didn’t think the game was over,” he said. “I was telling everybody it wasn’t over.”
Prescott proved him right, driving the Cowboys to the Giants’ 46-yard line in four plays. Aubrey did the rest, as the All-Pro kicker nailed his third career field goal of at least 60 yards.
The game was filled with several subplots.
Starting left tackle James Hudson had four penalties on the Giants’ opening drive, a first by any NFL player since at least 2000. Two were for unnecessary roughness and two were for false starts. He was benched and replaced by rookie Marcus Mbow the rest of the game.
Wilson’s first touchdown pass as a Giant went to Nabers, a 29-yarder that made it 13-3 in the second quarter. Wan’Dale Robinson, who had a career-high 142 yards to go with eight catches and a touchdown, set it up with catches of 9 and 29 yards.
The lead didn’t last.
KaVontae Turpin caught a 10-yard pass from Prescott in the second quarter and Javonte Williams added a 30-yard touchdown run in the third to make it 17-13.
Dru Phillips intercepted Prescott on the Cowboys’ opening drive of the third quarter, but his pass-interference penalty on Pickens on the next drive set up Williams’ run on the very next play.
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart made his NFL debut with three snaps, each time subbing out after only one play. One handoff led to rookie Cam Skattebo rumbling for 24 yards. Skattebo, who finished with 45 yards on 11 carries, scored his first NFL touchdown on the next play, a 1-yard run for a 23-20 lead.
Dart stumbled on a quarterback keeper with 3:39 remaining in the fourth. Wilson came back and two plays later, he found Robinson for a 32-yard touchdown that made it 30-27.
It set up the frenetic finish to end regulation. Prescott finished with 361 yards and two touchdowns, with CeeDee Lamb catching nine passes for 112 yards.
“That’s probably the most up-and-down game I’ve been a part of,” Phillips said.
Wilson said he didn’t know if he’d been a part of a game that crazy.
It featured a vintage performance that hinted at what the Giants hoped for when they signed him as a free agent.
The ending, however, left him and his team searching for the one thing they had hoped for with his arrival: a win.
Instead, they were on the wrong end of a thriller and again are searching for answers before preparing for next week’s home opener against Kansas City on Sunday Night Football.
“We needed one more play, one more moment to make a big play,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, they made it before we did.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
