Thoughts on Cowboys-Giants

The Baltimore Orioles are playing meaningful September baseball, but everybody just now stopped paying attention because OHMYGOD FOOTBALL. The Dallas Cowboys upset the New York Giants on the defending champions' home turf, 24-17, in the NFL season opener. Some immediate reactions:

• Tony Romo is good. Many people refuse to acknowledge this. He completed 22-of-29 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns, including the key third-down conversion that iced the game and kept the ball out of Eli Manning's hands. Romo still needs to prove he can win big games in December and January. But if his offensive line can protect him, he'll put up big numbers.
• With Jason Witten and Miles Austin banged up, the Cowboys desperately needed another receiver to emerge behind Dez Bryant. They got that in Kevin Ogletree, who had 116 yards and two touchdowns. I seriously doubt Ogletree is The Next Big Thing, but as a fourth option behind Austin, Bryant, and Witten...well, it's no wonder Romo threw for over 300 yards.
• DeMarco Murray is a beast. We knew this last year, too. The only thing keeping him from being a top running back is his injury history. He's a lot like Darren McFadden in that way.
• Eli Manning didn't get a ton of help from his supporting cast: rookie David Wilson coughed up a fumble, Victor Cruz had some bad drops, Hakeem Nicks was banged up, and the secondary was pretty bad. Like with all Giants teams recently, there's some stuff to figure out here.
• The NFC East features a lot of parity, and there should be more evenly-matched games like this one between the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles. It wouldn't be surprising at all if the division title was still in doubt entering the final week of the season.
• No overreactions, please. With no more games until the weekend, people will be falling over themselves to proclaim the Cowboys as the 'new favorite in the East' on Thursday, then 'legit Super Bowl contender' on Friday, and 'the next dynasty' on Sunday. We've been fooled by the Cowboys before. We need to see consistency from the offensive line and full health from Jason Witten and Miles Austin before the hyperbole machine can get fully revved up. They're obviously talented, but would it shock anyone if they lost at Seattle next week, 10-7? Yeah, no, it wouldn't. 

So enjoy this one, Cowboys. You have to prove yourselves all over again next weekend.