The Dallas Cowboys made a huge statement in Week 1, traveling to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ and demolishing the Giants by the score of 40-0.

It was a thorough beating, with the Giants crossing midfield only twice on the day, and obviously not getting points either time.

The only area the Giants had the advantage on the stat sheet was time of possession, their 33:28 to Dallas’ 26:32.

They had only 171 yards at 2.6 yards per play and 1.7 yards per pass, gave up seven sacks, and turned the ball over three times.

In a 40 point win, there are too many big plays to mention, but the big plays are not the focus of this article.

Instead, I want to examine what preceded those big plays, and how that directly affected the outcome of the game.

In chronological order, of course…

The Blocked Field Goal

The Giants received the opening kickoff, and were moving the ball very well down the field.

They used the rushing attack of Saquon Barkley with some designed runs for Daniel Jones sprinkled in to advance inside the Cowboys’ 10 yard line.

The Cowboys’ defense was on its heels, and really had no answer.

A series of unfortunate events backed the Giants up to 4th & 21 from the 27 yard line.

Graham Gano’s field goal attempt was blocked by S Juanyeh Thomas, and recovered by CB Noah Igbinoghene, who ran it all the way back for a Cowboys touchdown.

Let’s rewind those events to find the catalyst for the big play.

On 3rd & 2 from the Cowboys eight yard line, Giants LT Andrew Thomas was flagged for a false start.

Micah Parsons, who had a sack and numerous pressures in the game was lined up across from him.

That surely affected him on his false start.

The penalty forced the Giants into a passing situation that led to the 4th & long.

Just the presence of Parsons led to a blocked field goal for touchdown.

The Interception Returned for Touchdown

Still in the 1st quarter and down 9-0, the Giants took over on their third possession looking to get back into the game.

They faced a 3rd & 19 from their own 16 yard line.

Jones threw a swing pass to Saquon Barkley in the left flat.

Barkley made the catch, but as he turned up field, he was blindsided by Trevon Diggs.

Diggs flew in from Barkley’s left side and put his helmet directly on the ball, which then flew up in the air and was intercepted by DaRon Bland, who took it 22 yards for a touchdown.

That play likely doesn’t happen without the 1st down sack of Jones by DE DeMarcus Lawrence.

The sack was a nine yard loss that once again forced the Giants into passing mode with 19 yards needed for a first down.

Lawrence blew by OT Evan Neal to secure the sack, and it doomed the rest of the drive for the Giants.

Turpin’s Touchdown

Early in the 4th quarter, speedy WR KaVontae Turpin lined up in the backfield behind Prescott, and took a toss sweep to the left.

With Tyron Smith leading the way, barreling down defenders, Turpin was able to squeeze into the endzone for the final score of the game, and a 40-0 lead.

This would not have been possible without a 3rd down conversion earlier in the drive converted by Turpin himself.

Dak and the offense had taken over at midfield after a failed 4th down conversion by the Giants.

Facing a 3rd & 7 from the New York 16 yard line, Turpin won on a route over the middle of the field.

He made the catch in traffic, and held on to the ball while being hit, but not before making sure he had the first down.

Three plays later, Turpin was diving into the endzone on a seven yard touchdown run, and his first NFL regular season touchdown.

In the NFL, it’s the small plays that lead to big ones, and the Cowboys did a great job of hitting on those in Week 1.