Cowboys most to blame for dreadful Week 1 Sunday Night Football loss to Giants

The Dallas Cowboys got absolutely embarrassed in Week 1 of the 2026 season. Dallas lost 28-20 against New York on Sunday Night Football, immediately falling behind in the NFC East division race. The Cowboys struggled to find a rhythm on offense, and their new-look defense could not make up for it.

On one hand, Dallas does deserve credit for hanging with their division rival for a full 60 minutes. But the product on the field simply didn't match the hype that Dallas received throughout the offseason.

So what went wrong on Sunday Night Football?

These are the Cowboys players most to blame for their crushing Week 1 loss against the Giants.

Dak Prescott made one brutal mistake that cost the Cowboys in Week 1

The quarterback is often at least partially to blame for a big loss like this one. That is definitely the case in this game.

Prescott did not look too bad on the box score. He finished 22-of-34 for 175 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also scrambled twice for 14 rushing yards.

However, Prescott made a critical error at the end of the first half that took momentum away from Dallas. The veteran quarterback scrambled out of the pocket and looked like he wanted to throw the ball away. Instead, Jevon Holland made an incredible diving interception, giving New York a chance to score before halftime.

That set Dallas' defense up in a bad position and they ultimately gave up a touchdown. But we'll talk more about that play later.

Regardless, the pressure is always going to be high for the starting quarterback of the Cowboys. That is doubly true in 2026 after Dallas was hyped up throughout the offseason.

How Prescott looks in Week 2 could be telling about the rest of the season. He heated up in the second half but couldn't do enough to get the win. Can he put together a complete four quarters next week and get the Cowboys back on track?

Dallas clearly experienced some growing pains in their new defensive scheme

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was clearly frustrated when talking to the media after the game. Schottenheimer explained that young players making mistakes cost Dallas multiple times on Sunday night.

“You know, one other thing, not an excuse, guys. We did not play well. But you got young players. And young player closes and Jaxson Dart boots and gets outside. We don’t push three different times to the [expletive] flat route. Excuse my language. You know, like, those are gonna happen. And we have to coach the young players better, but when you play young players, it’s part of the deal. And they need to learn quickly.”

It is easy to understand Schottenheimer's frustration.

The Cowboys had the worst defensive performance of any team on Sunday when measured by EPA per drive.

Article Continues Below

Dallas struggled to stop New York's offense throughout the entire game. The Giants only had seven offensive possessions, and they made the most out of them. New York scored four touchdowns, punted once, had a turnover on a lost fumble, and ran out the clock on those possessions. That's two stops compared to four scores and icing the game away.

Perhaps this is most concerning because the Giants were the team to do it to the Cowboys. New York's skill position players on offense are not that scary and, on paper, look like an easy matchup for Dallas.

Dallas did not have a truly horrendous showing in Week 1, at least when compared to the rest of the league. Remember, the Panthers gave up 59 points in Week 1. But the Cowboys still showed that it won't be a seamless transition into Christian Parker's new defensive scheme.

The pressure will be on the Cowboys to play a lot better against the Commanders in Week 2.

DaRon Bland did not look like a $92 million man in season opener

It feels a little unfair to point out one Cowboys player above the rest. Still, it's probably time to talk about Bland.

The Cowboys gave Bland a four-year deal worth $92 million back in 2025. That deal looks like a mistake in hindsight because Bland has yet to recapture the magic of his 2023 season. Bland hauled in a whopping nine interceptions in 2023 and looked like the next big name at cornerback. Unfortunately, Bland's foot fracture in 2024 looks to be the most consequential injury of his career. He simply hasn't looked the same ever since.

Bland is no longer the lockdown corner he was once. Now he gives wide receivers too much room to operate, allowing for plenty of easy completions. On top of all of that, Bland looked confused in Parker's scheme just like everyone else.

One mistake at the end of the first half was the perfect example.

Bland and linebacker Dee Winters looked confused about where they should slide in their coverage. Both players took the underneath receiver, leaving tight end Isaiah Likely completely unopposed in the corner of the end zone. That play resulted in a New York touchdown, taking momentum away from Dallas just before halftime.

Perhaps Bland can look better in the future with a more favorable game script. But at this point, this may just be who Bland is.