ARLINGTON, Texas — The whipping boys of the Giants’ preseason dished up a whipping of their own when the games started counting.
Big Blue’s beleaguered offensive line, the source of so much angst in August, proved to be one of their biggest strengths in a 20-19 season-opening victory over the Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
The Gang That Couldn’t Block Straight in the preseason asserted its will on an admittedly depleted Dallas defense as the Giants averaged 4.7 yards a carry, allowed just two Eli Manning sacks and — most important — drained the clock with a relentless ground game on their final possession.
And when it was over, the Giants’ line couldn’t help but wonder what all the fuss last month was about.
“During the preseason, there was panic from everyone but us, I think,” guard Justin Pugh said. “We always knew what we could do.”
The line’s proudest moment didn’t produce any points but ended up deciding yet another close game between these NFC East rivals.
Taking over at their own 23-yard line with 3:57 left and clinging to a one-point lead, the Giants ran running back Rashad Jennings behind their line on seven consecutive plays while forcing the Cowboys to burn all three of their timeouts.
The final Jennings run, an 11-yard burst up the middle on third-and-12, was the biggest one to Pugh because the Giants decided to throw in an eerily similar situation on the same field in last year’s season opener — and the result was a crushing 27-26 loss.
That last Jennings run Sunday resulted in the Giants giving Dallas the ball back with just 1:12 left, and the lack of timeouts cost the Cowboys the game when wide receiver Terrance Williams stupidly decided to stay in bounds on the final play.
“It was huge, us going out there and taking all their timeouts on our final drive,” Pugh said. “We learned from last year where we threw it on third down instead of running it. We ran it this year and got those 40 seconds off the clock, and it worked out great.”
Jennings, who finished with 75 yards on 18 carries, joined Pugh in scoffing at all the preseason criticism heaped on the offensive line — even though coach Ben McAdoo at times was one of the line’s biggest public critics.
“We never felt any concern about our offensive line,” Jennings said. “That was pretty much all coming from outside our building. I know I never lost faith in those guys, and look what they did [Sunday].”
Pugh attributed much of the hysteria to people not understanding how NFL teams approach the preseason.
“When something worked [Sunday], we’d go back to it,” Pugh said.
“But in the preseason, you’re trying things out and the new guys are learning the whole offense for the first time. When you come down to the real thing and game-planning, it’s a little bit different story.”
A story with a happy ending — at long last — for the Giants, who beat the Cowboys on opening day for the first time in nine meetings all time.
“We harped ‘finish, finish, finish’ this offseason,” Pugh said of the line. “Last year, it was a complete opposite feeling in this locker room than we’re at right now. It was nice to start off on a good foot this time.”