Cowboys vs. Giants: Most Disturbing Things New York Learned from Week 1 Loss

The New York Giants dropped their season opener to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday night, and the game wasn't as close as the score showed.

The team lost 24-17, and can take more negatives than positives from the Week 1 contest.

No one is saying the Giants cannot repeat as Super Bowl champions with 15 games left, but New York has a few things to work on in preparation for the second game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Some things worry coaches more than others, but these three things will have Tom Coughlin thinking all week long.

Victor Cruz Isn't Ready for New Role

Cruz dropped three passes on Wednesday night and looked mostly out of place in the Giants offense. He didn't take kindly to his role as the No. 2 option, but he had plenty of chances to prove himself.

He was targeted 11 times—five more times than the next man —but only hauled in six passes.

The second-year target carries massive expectations into this season, but he failed on Wednesday. It's one thing to get blanketed by an elite corner, but you have to catch catchable passes, and Cruz failed to do that.

If he can't adapt to his new role, the Giants passing attack will be in trouble. We saw a preview of what that looks like on Wednesday.

David Wilson's Familiar Problem

Tiki Barber dealt with it, and so has Ahmad Bradshaw. Fumbles can kill a running back's career, and strip him of any trust the coaches place in him.

David Wilson didn't dispel the notions that he's another insecure ball-carrier against Dallas. He carried the ball twice, fumbled it once and made himself comfortable on the bench from that point on.

Tom Coughlin isn't going to settle for turnovers from his backfield this year. It's going to be hard enough to improve on a rushing offense that ranked last in the league last year without them.

Wilson is talented, but he failed to break a recent trend that we've seen in New York. Fumbles, or any kind of turnover, will kill a drive. Running backs must carry the ball high and tight, especially as they meander their way through the front seven.

I would imagine that Wilson is going to get another chance or two, but this is too familiar to Giants fans and coaches. Anything would look better than a fumble from that position at this point.

Dallas Is Different

No one wants to see their rival improve, but the Giants got a glimpse of the new Cowboys on Wednesday. It may not last, but Dallas looked really good on both sides of the ball.

Tony Romo was excellent, despite throwing one interception to Michael Boley in the first half. He stayed focused for four quarters, and he didn't make that critical "what was he thinking?" play in the second half like he usually does.

Defensively, acquisitions Brandon Carr and rookie Morris Claiborne have clearly made a difference. Both are natural cover corners, and they give the Cowboys pass rush more time to attack the quarterback.

This team has developed a reputation of fading away at the end of games, but sealed this one when the time was right. The Cowboys had a few minor issues during the game, but this looked like a different team on offense and defense.

The NFC East is going to be a competitive division from start to finish, but Dallas showed New York that it has some work to do in the coming weeks.