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Giants (4-9) Cowboys
(9-4)
Last
Sunday, the Cowboys held a 24 point halftime lead. Washington came back, scoring
three touchdowns while holding the Cowboys to just one field goal. Late In the
fourth quarter, Washington fumbled the ball over. That became their last drive
of the game, and the Cowboys had a 27-20 win.
The Giants did not do well in
their game with the L.A. Chargers. With 4:33 remaining, the Chargers held a 37-7
lead, and didn't have to do much more. The two touchdowns the Giants added after
that, just made the 37-20 final score look a bit better. Dallas
Cowboys
The Cowboys currently lead the NFC
East, just as they did the last time they faced off with the Giants earlier in
the season. After the Cowboys beat the Giants, they went on to win two more before
their six game win streak ended. The Cowboys went 3-3 after that, and their 9-4
record has them in position to possibly win a playoff spot this week, with a win
over the Giants.
That would happen if either New Orleans or San Francisco,
also lose their games. The Saints are heavy underdogs (+11), and the the 49ers
are heavy favorites (-9). A Cowboys win also puts them in great position to take
the NFC East division title, considering Philadelphia and Washington have 6-7
records with only four games left to play. Cowboys
Offense
The Cowboys are second in the league, averaging 29.2 points a game, compared to
last year when they were at 24.7. Dak Prescott is one of the reasons there is
that improvement. Prescott was on his way to breaking the passing yardage record
when he was severely injured in the Cowboys first game with the Giants last year,
and he missed the rest of the season. This year Prescott has thrown for 24 touchdowns
and 10 interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes for 3381 yards.
While still in the top ten quarterback ranking, those numbers likely would be
higher if Prescott hadn't sustained a calf injury in a game with New England.
Prescott missed one game and since he's been back, the Cowboys have a 3-3 record,
with Prescott throwing 8 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Wide receiver CeeDee
Lamb is Prescott's top target. Lamb and Amari Cooper are tied for the team lead,
each having caught 6 touchdowns.
The Cowboys rank 6th in the NFL in rushing
offense, averaging 128.5 yards per game. The one two punch of Ezekiel Elliot and
Tony Pollard has been a bit diminished, with Elliot dealing with a knee injury
for a few weeks. Pollard missed the last game due to a torn plantar fascia in
his left foot. Pollard practiced for the first time in a limited fashion this
week and may play. Both running backs can catch, and Pollard's sure hands have
given him 31 catches on 34 targets. Cowboys
Defense
The
Cowboys defense was their weak point last year. Their rushing defense was ranked
31st and they were 28th in points allowed. The Cowboys were improved in both areas
when they last met up with the Giants, and continued to do so after that. Last
year the Cowboys gave up 159 rushing yards a game, and now it's 110. That of course
helps in the most important area. Instead of giving up 29.6 points a game, that
number is impressively down to 22.1.
The Cowboys 27-20 final score over Washington
last week, wasn't as close as it may appear. Dak Prescott threw a pick-six late
in the fourth quarter. Overall the defense kept Washington's running game in check,
and held quarterback Taylor Heineke to 122-passing yards. Heineke was sacked four
times, with two of them coming from rookie linebacker Micah Parsons. Parsons leads
the team by far, with 12 sacks.
Defensive end Randy Gregory, who had an interception
last week, is second on the team with 6 sacks. In the secondary the defense likes
to employ man-to-man coverage, Trevon Diggs is an aggressive cornerback, and has
9 interceptions on the year, nearly half of the teams total 20. Anthony Brown
is second with 3, and Jourdan Lewis has 2. Giants
Offense
Quarterback Mike Glennon will be
in for his third consecutive start this week. Glennon has faced the Cowboys before.
In the Giants first game with them, Daniel Jones left with a concussion he suffered
near the goal line right before the half. Glennon coming off the bench, threw
for 1 touchdown and two interceptions, with a 64 percent completion percentage,
which was better than Jones was doing earlier in the game. As a starter with the
opportunity to practice more with the main players, you would expect that number
to stay somewhere in that same area, but it hasn't. In Glennon's two starts against
the Dolphins and Chargers, it's averaged down to 50 percent.
To be fair, most
backup quarterbacks are in for the short term. Hopefully, they are good game managers
and can keep things going. The Giants offensive line hasn't played well all year,
and they need a quarterback who can actually step up and make things happen to
cover their deficiencies. Jones hasn't proven that he can even do that in a consistent
fashion. Glennon's 'main players' have been in and out of practice with various
injuries and COVID protocols. Last week, Kenny Golladay dealing with a rib injury,
was targeted 8 times, but was able to pull in only 2 passes for 15 yards. Sterling
Shepard had returned after missing a few games, and caught two of Glennon's 4
passes for 27 yards.
On the plus side, Saquon Barkley ran for a season high
64 yards last week, and caught 3 passes for 31 yards. The Giants did put together
some good plays near the end of that game. Barkley had an 18-yard touchdown catch,
and Glennon finished their next drive off himself by running the ball in 8 yards
for a touchdown. Did the Giants suddenly wake up, or did the Chargers begin to
snooze on their big lead? Giants
Defense
Last week against the LA Chargers,
the defense showed no pass rush. This was not a new event for the Giants, and
it didn't help that their shaky secondary is susceptible to deep passes. Justin
Herbert completed 23 of his 31 passes for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, including
one that went for 59 yards when there was less than a minute left in the first
half. They didn't play their best against the Chargers last week, and it's possible
that defensive end Leonard Williams will miss this game.
Linebacker Jaylon
Smith was available for the Giants after being released by the Green Bay Packers.
Smith was a second-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2016 NFL draft, and played
with them this year. With Micah Parsons exceeding expectations, the Cowboys decided
to move on from Smith, who looks to be playing in this game against his former
team.
The Giants secondary is hurting. Cornerbacks Adoree Jackson and Aaron
Robinson had tested positive for COVID-19, and may not play against the Cowboys
The good news is that safety Xavier McKinney has been cleared from the Reserve/COVID-19
list, and he will be in this game with the Cowboys. Overall
The Cowboys are favored to win in this game
with the Giants. They are also at a point where they can field more healthy playmakers,
something the Giants have struggled with all year. The Giants were hit with injuries
on both sides of the ball with free agents, rookies, and their regulars. It includes
starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who will now miss his third straight game.
The Cowboys know what that can feel like after last year when they lost Dak Prescott,
and finished up with a 6-10 record. Add to that, this week the Giants had eight
players on the reserve/COVID-19 list at various times after testing positive for
the virus. The Cowboys should note that the Giants recently implemented a number
of trick plays. For this game, the Cowboys biggest worry should be that one or
two might actually work for a change. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys (9-4)
at Giants (4-9).
Sunday at 1:00pm Washington (6-7) at Eagles (6-7). --------
UPDATE ------- Tuesday at 7:00pm.
The Cowboys and Eagles are the teams favored
to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
could have selected Micah Parsons with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Giants
traded their 11th overall pick for the Bears 20th and 5th round picks, and 1st
and 4th round picks in 2022. Giants
selected wide receiver Kadarius Toney with their 20th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Next Games
Dec
26 Giants at Philadelphia
Jan 2 Giants at Chicago |
