It was Ben McAdoo’s first game ever. It was Victor Cruz’s first game in forever. Both made the most of their opportunity.
Cruz caught the game-winning touchdown that kick-started the McAdoo regime with a 20-19 victory over the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. It was the Giants’ first opening day win since 2010 and their first win ever over Dallas in an opener. 
They had lost their first eight, including last year’s when the Giants mismanaged the final two minutes. That horrific memory was exorcised as the Giants turned the page to a new era.
Cruz, who had not played in an NFL game in 700 days due to knee and calf injuries, caught the 3-yard touchdown pass that gave the Giants the lead for good with 6:13 left in the game. 
The veteran receiver punctuated his return with his salsa dance, but it was others who set up the drive: Eli Manning hit Sterling Shepard for 20 yards while avoiding pressure in the pocket and Shane Vereen had slashing runs of 10 and 9 yards to bring the Giants to the doorstep.
The Cowboys punted to the Giants with 3:57 left and the Giants were able to get two first downs before punting it back with 1:05 left. Dak Prescott drove the Cowboys to the Giants’ 46, but this time it was Dallas’ turn to make the boneheaded decision late in the game. 
Terrance Williams caught an 8-yard pass to get close to field-goal range, but instead of running out of bounds to stop the clock he was tackled and time expired.
The Giants fell behind 6-0 on a pair of Cowboys field goals, but took the lead with their first touchdown of the season with 9:36 left in the second quarter. Manning hit Odell Beckham Jr. for a 45-yard pass down the left sideline to the Cowboys’ 15, then on the next play found tight end Larry Donnell in the end zone for the score. 
Dallas tacked on a third field goal to go back ahead 9-7 – a pass for Dez Bryant in the end zone initially ruled a TD was overturned upon review – but the Giants drove 75 yards on 12 plays to take a 13-9 halftime lead. 
Cruz caught three passes on the drive and Shepard capped it with a 10-yard touchdown grab. Randy Bullock missed the extra-point kick wide left.
The result, and Cruz’s overarching role in it, even imbued the game with some sense of tribute on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. 
Afterward, Cruz honored his deceased father, Michael Walker, a fireman in Paterson, N.J., who spent several days working at the site of World Trade Center after the attacks.
“As elated as I am to catch the winning touchdown, with my father being a fireman and being there, this is always a heavy-hearted day,” Cruz said of Walker, who died in 2007.

Rookies and veteran quarterbacks shine at new teams

The National Football League’s (NFL) opening week has been a strong one for debut quarterbacks as rookies and veterans alike earned passing grades with their new teams.
Suspended signal-caller Tom Brady casts a large shadow for New England, but first-time starter Jimmy Garoppolo filled in nicely to guide the Patriots to a 23-21 victory against Arizona on Sunday night.
Garoppolo threw for 264 yards, had one touchdown pass and no interceptions to continue the league-wide trend of new leading passers achieving early success.
Carson Wentz, the second overall pick of the 2016 draft for Philadelphia, made a favourable first impression in a 29-10 home triumph over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Wentz set the tone on the opening drive of the game when he took the Eagles 75 yards down field and capped the march with a perfectly lobbed 19-yard touchdown pass over the shoulder of wide receiver Jordan Matthews.
“It was huge,” Wentz said of the play.
“Going down and moving the ball and getting that play right away, right off the bat, was huge for my confidence, huge for this team’s confidence.
“I know the people here (in Philadelphia) were rocking. It was a great way to start the year.”
Wentz completed 22 of 37 passes for 278 yards and two scores, while avoiding a turnover. Dallas first-year quarterback Dak Prescott was similarly thrust into the spotlight when starter Tony Romo suffered a pre-season back injury.
But he was as composed against the New York Giants, pushing the Cowboys on a potential game-winning drive that ultimately ran out of time as Dallas fell to a 20-19 defeat. Prescott put together methodical drives and has yet to commit a turnover dating back to his breakout performance during the pre-season.
The Minnesota Vikings were left scrambling when starter Teddy Bridgewater sustained a season-ending knee injury last month.
The team acquired Sam Bradford from the Eagles but he is still learning the new offense, so the Vikings turned to 36-year-old Shaun Hill who steered them to a 25-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. Houston Texans signal-caller Brock Osweiler signed a $72mn deal in the off-season to leave the Super Bowl-winning Denver Broncos.
Osweiler tossed two touchdowns in his team’s 23-14 triumph over the Chicago Bears and expressed the same confidence in the Texans that they showed in him.
“There were no nerves there, I knew what kind of football team I had behind me,” Osweiler said. “I was just excited to get this thing kicked off.”
Despite Osweiler’s departure, the Broncos were able to find success with second-year quarterback Trevor Siemian who won his first ever NFL start with a 21-20 nail-biter against Carolina on Thursday.