It is Day 90 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
At Day 90 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff we revisit one of the most satisfying season-opening wins of the Jason Garrett era. The Cowboys opened the 2012 season on a rare Wednesday night, on the road, against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Dallas had ended the 2011 season with a painful Week 17 loss in the same building, but this time the Cowboys walked into MetLife Stadium and spoiled the Giants’ title celebration with a 24-17 win.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2012 — 8:30 p.m. ET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 24, New York Giants 17
The game started slowly. Neither team scored in the first quarter, and New York struck first with a Lawrence Tynes 22-yard field goal in the second. Dallas finally answered just before halftime when Tony Romo hit Kevin Ogletree for a 10-yard touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 7-3 lead at the break.
Ogletree then became the story of the night. Early in the third quarter, Romo found him again, this time for a 40-yard touchdown that pushed Dallas ahead 14-3. The Giants answered with a 10-yard Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown run, but the Cowboys kept control with a Dan Bailey 33-yard field goal and a fourth-quarter 34-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Miles Austin. New York made it interesting late when former Cowboy Martellus Bennett caught a nine-yard touchdown from Eli Manning, but Dallas had enough to finish the job.
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The closing sequence was exactly what made this win feel different. In recent meetings with the Giants, Dallas had often found painful ways to lose late. This time, facing pressure, Romo went back to Ogletree on third down for a 15-yard completion that effectively sealed the game. Ogletree finished with eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns after entering the night with only 25 career catches and zero career touchdowns.
Romo was excellent, completing 22 of 29 passes for 307 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a 129.5 passer rating. DeMarco Murray gave Dallas balance with 131 rushing yards on 20 carries, while Dez Bryant added 85 receiving yards and Miles Austin had 73 yards with the fourth-quarter touchdown. The Cowboys outgained New York in offensive yards with 433 total yards to the Giants 269, and controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes.
This game belongs on the countdown because it felt like a real statement at the time. Dallas was coming off another 8-8 season, had been beaten by the Giants twice late in 2011, and was opening against the reigning champs in their building. For one night, the Cowboys looked poised, balanced, explosive, and tough enough to close out a high-leverage divisional road win.
Interesting Facts About the Game
This was the first NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1948. The league moved the 2012 opener from its usual Thursday slot to avoid a conflict with a political convention.
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Countdown To Kickoff by day:
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91
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