Cowboys Report Card: Horrible Grades As Dallas Humbled 28-20 By Giants

The Dallas Cowboys were thoroughly beaten on Sunday night, 28-20, by the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, as all of the hope and optimism around new coordinator Christian Parker's defense is now dashed.

All of the same problems that plagued the Cowboys' defense last season were there for all to see, as costly penalties and the inability to stop the run were a constant theme.

On offense, Dak Prescott threw a poor interception and ended his night going 22 of 34 for 175 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception.

CeeDee Lamb (5 rec, 44 yards, 1 TD), and Javonte Williams (12 att, 41 yards, 1 TD, and 5 rec, 31 yards, 1 TD) were the only ones to hold their head high.

Prior to the game, we highlighted five things Dallas had to do to walk into MetLife and walk out with a win. Let's see how they did.

Hint ... not well.

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1 - Curb the emotion: F

About as bad a start as you could imagine in the first half. A flag on DeMarvion Overshown after he hit Jaxson Dart out of bounds, a Giants touchdown after the Cowboys started with a three-and-out, plus a special teams penalty, all in the first quarter.

It was all yuck as the Cowboys handed all the momentum to New York, and John Harbaugh's team never gave it back.

Oh, and a Williams taunting flag down when down two scores pushed Brandon Aubrey's PAT attempt back to 48 yards, which the All-Pro missed.

Dallas looked like a team that was very unprepared.

2 - Get the dynamic duo rolling: F

Lamb had his moments, but he finished with just 44 yards and a TD from five catches.

As for Pickens, he only managed 28 yards from three receptions and had a couple of poor drops.

The Cowboys' dynamic duo never really got rolling.

3 - Stop the Giants' run game: N/A

Perhaps the worst part of Sunday night. The Giants mauled Dallas in the trenches, to the tune of 80 rushing yards in the first half, and ended the game with 165 on the ground.

The Cowboys were powerless to stop it, as Cam Skattebo (18 att, 81 yards, 1 TD) and Dart (54 yards on 11 attempts) ran riot.

In a throwback to last year, the Cowboys' run defense was nonexistent, and the Giants pounded Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and others.

Parker and his staff had no answers.

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4 - Capitalize on red zone trips: A

The only "good" thing if you want to clutch at straws.

The Cowboys' offense, despite only having the ball twice in the second half, was 3/3 in the redzone.

At least it's something, right?

5 - Don't get beat by what you know: F

We knew Dart was a danger with his legs, but it appears Dallas didn't. Dart had a huge 22-yard run on the very first drive for New York, and that set the tone.

So many times, Dallas overcommitted to rushing the passer, and Dart slipped out the side or stepped up in the pocket and escaped.

In total, 54 yards on 11 runs tells the story as Dart did as he pleased on the ground, much like every other Giants running back.