Eli Manning, who threw three touchdown passes in Giants win over Cowboys. Photo by Jesse Simmers / contrastphotography.com

ARLINGTON, Texas – This year, the Giants were on the right side of a season-opening one-point game in AT&T Stadium.

The Giants began the Ben McAdoo era Sunday with a pulsating 20-19 triumph over the Dallas Cowboys, a game that was not decided until time expired on the home team as it desperately tried to get off one final snap. The victory was particularly sweet for the Giants, who exactly 52 weeks earlier lost a 27-26 decision here on a touchdown with just seven seconds remaining.

“I thought they played with good discipline and poise,” said McAdoo, who became the first Giants coach in eight tries to beat Dallas in a season opener. “They hung in there. We talk about just finding a path to victory. It all doesn’t have to look great. There are a bunch of different ways you can find it. They hung in there and did that this afternoon.”

“This is big,” said quarterback Eli Manning, who threw three touchdown passes. “Big win for this team and the guys that were here last year. Almost a year ago today in the same spot, we had a chance to win and couldn’t pull it out. We were down and to score from an offensive standpoint to take the lead, and then for our defense to get two more stops and hold on to that lead, it’s big for this team moving forward. It’s a big help.”

The drama was further enhanced by the man who scored the game-winning touchdown. Victor Cruz, playing in his first game in 700 days (since Oct. 12, 2014), caught Manning’s three-yard pass with 6:15 remaining. It was Cruz’s first touchdown since Sept. 21, 2014 vs. Houston, and his first vs. the Cowboys since Sept. 8. 2013.

“To catch a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter to put us ahead is always a good thing,” Cruz said. “For coach McAdoo, he’s done a tremendous job in putting us in the right positions and giving us the right words, and putting our energy levels to the right place for us to win this game. I think just to be able to score the touchdown was a tremendous feeling.”

The late score gave the entire team a lift that was a long time coming. Last year’s opening night disappointment in Dallas was the first of six games the Giants lost after they led or were tied in the fourth quarter. In all of them, the culprit was a defense that could not stop the opposition with the game on the line. That unit finished the season ranked 32nd in three significant categories. Free agent reinforcements were added in the offseason. And this time, the revamped defense made a big stop when it counted.

After Dan Bailey’s fourth field goal, a 54-yarder early in the final quarter, extended Dallas’ lead to 19-13, the Cowboys did not score another point. The defense forced two punts before Dallas took possession on its own 20 with 1:05 remaining, and no timeouts.

“If they’re going to complete the ball, have them complete the ball in bounds,” McAdoo said of the last-series strategy. “Don’t let the quarterback out of the pocket. If he gets out of the pocket, he can extend the play. That’s when the big ones happen.”

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott led the Cowboys to the Dallas 46. When the ball was snapped with 12 seconds remaining, his pass to Terrance Williams gained 14 yards, close enough for Bailey to attempt a game-winning kick. But the receiver inexplicably did not run to the sideline, and was tackled by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, allowing the final seconds to tick off before Dallas could get off another play.

“I was telling myself that I can’t let him get out of bounds,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “They had the play designed. I was just straddling the sidelines hoping that he didn’t come that way.”

Advantage and redemption, defense.

“It felt great to go out there and close the game out,” defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins said. “Last year we struggled with that. This year we’re going to improve on that. We did a good job tonight.”

“It was outstanding,” safety Landon Collins said. “It shows us how capable we are and what we’ve become. It shows how much work we’ve put in through the offseason, and the OTA’s. It shows that we are capable of making those stops. You can put the game on our shoulders and we’ll make sure they don’t score.”

And Manning will make sure the Giants do. In the first game of his 13th season, he completed 19 of 28 passes for 207 yards, three touchdowns and one interception (that even McAdoo acknowledged was rookie wide receiver Sterling Shepard’s fault). In addition to Cruz, tight end Larry Donnell (15 yards) and Shepard (nine yards for his first career score) caught the other Manning touchdown passes.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Cruz led the Giants with four receptions apiece, and Shepard, Shane Vereen and Will Tye each had three. Rashad Jennings rushed for 75 yards, and Vereen added 38.

In the end, it was the defense that came up big. Dallas gained just 12 more yards than the Giants, despite running 21 more plays and owning a 13½-minute time of possession advantage.

“It was great to see the defense get a stop there at the end,” McAdoo said. “They battled all night. They played a lot of plays tonight and they fought through it.”

Last year, the opening night loss here began a season-long downward spiral. Can this exciting victory set a positive tone for this year?

“I hope so,” Manning said. “We have to stay humble and keep working. We have a tough opponent next week in New Orleans. Just to know that we can win the tight ones is helpful. We’re going to get more like it. We’re going to get more tight games. Great teams have to be able to win most of them.”

For starters, the Giants did exactly that.