Cowboys at Giants: Week 1 game ball goes to Dallas’ destructive defensive line

The Dallas Cowboys started their 2023 regular season with arguably their most dominant Week 1 performance in franchise history. Dallas went into New York and pulverized the Giants, walking out with a 40-0 win.

In such a lopsided victory it was hard to narrow things down for this week’s game ball, but it was pretty clear one unit went above and beyond in leading Dallas to this victory. The game ball for Week 1 of the 2023 season goes to the Cowboys’ defensive line.

Coming into the game, the Dallas defensive line getting pressure on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was one of the Cowboys’ keys to victory. Dallas accomplished that and then some, putting Jones under consistent duress all night.

Dallas finished the night with a league-high seven sacks, with five different players getting in on the action.

The Cowboys pressured Jones on 62% of the Giants’ offensive snaps, recording 26 total pressures as a defense.

The Dallas defensive line was so dominant that the Giants offense finished the game with a worse offensive EPA than the Broncos did back in 2020 when they had Kendall Hinton, a wide receiver, play quarterback.

Overall, Week 1 couldn’t have gone better for the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas defensive line led the way and they take home this week’s game ball.