When the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys met during the first week of the season, the outcome wasn’t pretty for Big Blue. The game ended in a 35-17 loss and was the first of two losses before we saw Eli Manning get benched in favor of Daniel Jones.
The Cowboys are 7.5-point favorites this week, which is no surprise given the Giants’ track record. At 2-6, the Giants are desperate for a win, and there are three major keys to getting a win at home on Sunday.
Limit big plays
The Giants have given up 43 big plays (over 20 yards) this season, 35 on pass plays and eight on rush plays. The Cowboys have 32 big plays under their belts this season, 28 passing and four rushing. Given that there have only been eight weeks played this season, that’s an average of four big plays per game.
The Giants have to put a stop to those or at least limit the ‘Boys to one or two. The defense needs to garner some confidence after the dismal season they’ve had, and limiting these types of plays will go a long way toward boosting the psyche of those players.
Get a handle on turnovers
This is likely going to be a theme until the problem is solved. Daniel Jones received some praise this week, but he still fumbled twice (losing one) and almost had an interception. Yes, it’s an improvement for him and the rest of the team, but this was against the now 3-3-1 Detroit Lions.
On Sunday they’ll face a 4-3 Cowboys team which leads the NFC East. It’s a rivalry game the likes of which Jones hasn’t yet seen, and the Cowboys defense is ranked 8th in the league. It will be a big test for Jones, and if he fails as the result of turnover issues, questions are going to start being asked about his ability as a starting quarterback. At least for this season.
Feature Saquon out of the backfield
Saquon Barkley is by far the Giants’ most valuable weapon on either side of the ball. He missed three games with an ankle injury and still ranks 11th in the league among running backs with 373 yards, averaging over 74 yards per game. And that doesn’t include his receiving ability. He has 22 receptions for 161 yards, including a 38-yard reception against Detroit last week.
Not only do the Giants need to feature Barkley out of the backfield, but they also need to get him one-on-one with linebackers and utilize his ability to catch the ball.
If the Giants do all of these things, the Cowboys are totally beatable. The NFC East division is still up for grabs, and it would take some serious work by Big Blue and they’d need a ton of help, but making the playoffs can still happen.
