Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Match Player Stats: Jaxson Dart and the Ground Game Send New York Home a Winner

Digging into the dallas cowboys vs new york giants match player stats from Week 18 tells you everything about how a lopsided finale actually played out. Dallas showed up treating the game like an exhibition, and New York made them pay for it with a balanced attack that never let Dak Prescott’s replacement find a rhythm. The Giants controlled the ball for over 33 minutes and turned that clock control into a 34-17 win that closed out their season on a two-game winning streak.

The Giants hosted the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on January 4, 2026, in front of 74,395 fans for the Week 18 regular-season finale. Dallas built an early 10-6 cushion behind a Jaydon Blue rushing score, but New York answered with 18 unanswered points across the second and third quarters, then closed out the fourth with a field goal and a Devin Singletary touchdown run to put the result out of reach. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. piled up 159 yards from scrimmage, and kicker Ben Sauls went a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals to power the Giants’ offense.

Match Overview

Core Match Statistics Overview

The box score shows New York winning nearly every phase of the game outside of raw rushing average, and the time of possession gap explains most of it.

Time of Possession and Play Volume

• New York ran 15 more plays than Dallas, a direct byproduct of sustaining the 10-play, 69-yard drive that produced the Phil Mafah touchdown response and several other long possessions of their own.
• Extra snaps meant extra chances for Dart and the Giants’ skill players to pad these dallas cowboys vs new york giants match player stats in the fourth quarter, when the game was already trending their way.

Passing Efficiency

• Dart’s 6.6 yards per attempt outpaced a Dallas passing attack that split its work between Dak Prescott and Joe Milton III, neither of whom found any sustained rhythm.
• New York’s 219 net passing yards came on a clean afternoon with zero interceptions thrown by the starter, a sharp contrast to the two Dallas turnovers.

Ground Game Production

• Dallas actually out-gained the Giants on a per-play basis early, but Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah combined for two short touchdown runs rather than one big explosive gain.
• Tyrone Tracy Jr. alone rushed for 103 yards, nearly matching the entire Dallas backfield’s rushing total by himself.

Turnover Margin

• Dallas gave the ball away twice, once on Prescott’s botched-snap fumble and once on Milton’s fourth-quarter interception, while the Giants protected the football outside of one giveaway.
• That turnover margin, combined with the time of possession edge, let New York dictate tempo for almost the entire second half.

Period-by-Period Analysis

First Quarter

• Ben Sauls opened the scoring with a 45-yard field goal before Brandon Aubrey answered for Dallas from 22 yards out.
• Sauls added a second field goal to push New York ahead 6-3, but Jaydon Blue’s 14-yard touchdown run flipped the lead back to Dallas.
• The Cowboys carried a 10-6 edge into the second quarter, their only lead of the entire afternoon.

Second Quarter

• Sauls trimmed the gap with a third field goal, a 23-yarder, cutting the Dallas edge to a single point.
• Jaxson Dart delivered a 29-yard strike to Daniel Bellinger with just 20 seconds left in the half, giving New York a 16-10 lead heading into the break.
• Dak Prescott’s night effectively ended at halftime, setting up a second-half quarterback change that shaped the rest of these dallas cowboys vs new york giants match player stats.

Third Quarter

• Joe Milton III took over under center for Dallas to begin the second half and immediately faced a Giants defense playing with confidence.
• Tyrone Tracy Jr. hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dart, and New York converted a trick-play two-point conversion when Devin Singletary threw to Darius Slayton.
• The Giants’ lead was extended to 24–10 by the eight-point swing in the third quarter, which essentially determined the result before the final session started.

Fourth Quarter

• Phil Mafah capped a 10-play, 69-yard Dallas drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit back to seven points.
• Sauls answered immediately with his fourth field goal of the day, a 30-yarder, restoring a two-score cushion for New York.
• Devin Singletary sealed the win with a 6-yard touchdown run midway through the quarter, setting the final margin at 34-17.

Dallas Cowboys Player Statistics

Dak Prescott (QB): 7-of-11 passing, 70 yards, 0 TD, lost a fumble on a botched snap before exiting at halftime. Prescott’s night was short by design, and the fumble stood as one of Dallas’ two turnovers on the day.

Joe Milton III (QB): 7-of-13 passing (53.8%), 73 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, passer rating of 38.3 in relief of Prescott. Milton’s interception, picked off by Bobby Okereke, capped a rough audition in extended second-half snaps.

Jaydon Blue (RB): 14-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, the first of his NFL career. Blue’s early score gave Dallas its only lead of the game before the offense went cold for two-plus quarters.

Phil Mafah (RB): 1-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, also his first career score. Mafah’s touchdown came at the end of the Cowboys’ longest drive of the game and briefly made it a one-score contest.

Jadeveon Clowney (DE): 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 6 tackles. Clowney set a career high in sacks and turned in the best individual performance by any defender on the field.

New York Giants Player Statistics

Jaxson Dart (QB): 22-of-32 passing, 230 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 219 net yards after four sacks. Dart closed his rookie season with an efficient, turnover-free performance that set up nearly every Giants scoring drive.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB): 26 touches, 103 rushing yards, 159 total yards from scrimmage, 1 receiving touchdown. Tracy led every player on the field in touches and was the engine behind New York’s ball-control approach.

Gunner Olszewski (WR): 8 catches on 9 targets, 103 receiving yards, plus two punt returns. Olszewski was Dart’s most reliable target and gave the Giants a steady possession-moving threat outside the backfield.

Ben Sauls (K): 4-of-4 field goals (45, 45, 23, 30 yards), 2-of-2 extra points. Sauls scored 14 of New York’s 34 points and never missed a kick attempt all afternoon.

Bobby Okereke (LB): 1 interception off Joe Milton III in the fourth quarter, New York’s only takeaway through the air. Okereke’s pick sealed off any hope of a Dallas comeback drive.

Statistical Leaders Summary

Why the Giants Won

Ball Control Through Tyrone Tracy Jr.

New York leaned on its lead back to keep the clock moving, and Tracy’s workload directly produced the 33:07 time of possession advantage that limited Dallas’ offensive snaps.

Mistake-Free Quarterback Play

Dart finished 22-of-32 for 230 yards and two scores without an interception, and that clean sheet made every Giants scoring drive stick instead of stalling on a costly throw.

Special Teams Reliability

Ben Sauls converted all four field goal attempts and both extra points, giving New York a floor of points on nearly every trip into scoring range even when the offense stalled short of the end zone.

Third-Quarter Explosion

The Tracy touchdown catch plus a successful two-point trick play turned a two-point Giants lead into a two-score cushion in a single possession, flipping the game’s entire complexion.

Why the Cowboys Lost

A Quarterback Change That Killed Rhythm

Dak Prescott played only the first half, going 7-of-11 for 70 yards before Joe Milton III took over and finished 7-of-13 for 73 yards with an interception. Splitting reps between two passers never let Dallas build any sustained offensive rhythm.

Turnovers at the Worst Times

Prescott’s fumbled snap and Milton’s fourth-quarter pick each came during stretches where Dallas had a chance to change momentum, and both turnovers instead handed New York the ball back.

One Long Drive Wasn’t Enough

Dallas managed only one extended scoring drive all game, the 10-play, 69-yard march that ended in Mafah’s touchdown, while New York sustained multiple long possessions across the second half.

Historical Context and Advanced Insights

Season Series Breakdown

The season series split 1-1, with New York’s Week 18 win snapping a run of nine consecutive Cowboys victories in the head-to-head rivalry dating back several seasons.

Efficiency Per Possession

New York’s 5.5 yards-per-play average against Dallas’ 5.3 looks close on paper, but the Giants translated that efficiency into 69 total plays compared to 54 for Dallas. More snaps at a similar per-play rate is simple math for a bigger final yardage total, and it’s exactly how New York piled up 380 yards to Dallas’ 286 without needing a wildly explosive play.

Game Implications and Key Lessons

What This Means for the Giants

• New York closes the season on a two-game winning streak, a building block for the coaching staff heading into an offseason evaluation.
• Dart’s clean, turnover-free finish adds real evidence to his rookie-season case as a foundational piece.
• The win also affected New York’s 2026 draft positioning, since a fourth straight loss would have improved their odds at the top pick.

What This Means for the Cowboys

• Dallas finishes at 7-9-1, a season that never found consistency behind an inconsistent defense.
• The Prescott-to-Milton split at quarterback exposed a lack of proven depth behind the starter.
• Red zone execution and turnover avoidance are the clearest offseason priorities after two giveaways in a game Dallas had little motivation to win outright.

Key Lessons

• Time of possession and play volume compound quickly; 15 extra offensive snaps is a full extra series or more.
• A clean quarterback performance, even a modest one statistically, often beats a flashier outing riddled with turnovers.
• Special teams reliability, like a perfect day kicking field goals, provides a scoring floor that can decide close games.
• Splitting quarterback reps between two passers rarely produces rhythm, even in games with reduced stakes.
• A single standout defensive performance, like Clowney’s three-sack day, can’t offset two offensive turnovers on the other side of the ball.
• Season series results can flip fast; New York’s win broke a long losing streak in this exact matchup.

FAQs

Who won the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants game on January 4, 2026?

The New York Giants won 34-17 over the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.

Who led the Giants in passing?

Jaxson Dart led New York, completing 22-of-32 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

What were Dak Prescott’s stats in this game?

Prescott went 7-of-11 for 70 yards and lost a fumble before exiting at halftime, with Joe Milton III finishing the game at quarterback.

Who had the most rushing yards in the game?

Tyrone Tracy Jr. of the Giants led all rushers with 103 yards on the ground and 159 total yards from scrimmage.

Did any player set a career high in this matchup?

Yes, Dallas defensive end Jadeveon Clowney set a career high with three sacks in the loss.

How many field goals did Ben Sauls make?

Sauls went a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, contributing 14 of the Giants’ 34 points.

Conclusion

Efficiency and ball control carried the day over individual flashes of production. New York out-snapped, out-possessed, and out-executed Dallas in the moments that mattered, while a turnover-prone Cowboys offense split between two quarterbacks never found the rhythm to match Jaxson Dart’s clean, mistake-free afternoon. These dallas cowboys vs new york giants match player stats tell a simple story: the team that protected the football and controlled the clock walked away with the win.