The New York Giants (6–2) host the beleaguered Dallas Cowboys (1–7) this Sunday at the New Meadowlands Stadium for their second NFC East divisional meeting this season.
The last time the teams met was in Week 7, with the Giants prevailing 41–35 and effectively nailing the coffin shut on the Cowboys’ season when they knocked out quarterback Tony Romo.
Since that game, it’s been a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions.
While the Giants have been on a five-game winning streak and are in first place in the NFC East, the Cowboys have been on a five-game losing streak, are last in the division, and have been outscored 80–24 since the two teams last met.
Such a putrid chain of events led to the firing of head coach Wade Phillips. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will act as interim head coach until Jerry Jones finds a big name to take over the team during the offseason.
Unlike the offense, the Dallas defense has no excuses with the majority of its starters playing healthy. This leaves many unanswered questions as to why this once proud unit has played so poorly and has done little to help out quarterback John Kitna and the slumping offense.
Whatever the case, things won’t get any easier on Sunday. Dallas’s offense will be facing off against one of the best defenses in the NFL and the defense will be forced to contain a powerful offense chocked full of playmakers.
Another mismatch is Jason Garrett coaching against one of the best in the business in Tom Coughlin.
While the Cowboys are ranked fourth in passing yards (283.6 per game), their ground game is anemic, ranked 31st overall and producing just 75.6 yards per game. They will be facing a Giants defense that is ranked second against the run (allowing 80.9 yards per game) and second in passing defense (allowing 169.8 yards per game). The Giants have also registered 24 quarterback sacks.
Regarding shutting down Dallas’s ground game, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was succinct in saying on www.giants.com, “It’s our job to try to destroy the run.”
As good as the Giants defense has been Fewell is confident that they can become even better. He said, “We’ve accomplished some things that we wanted to accomplish, but there’s a lot more that we can get better at and accomplish and if we just take it one week at a time, the sky is the limit.”
What makes playing against the Giants defense so tough is their secondary can essentially neutralize a team’s best receivers with the combination of safeties Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips, and cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster.
Linebacker Jonathan Goff is also playing extremely well in pass coverage and is effective in both run stopping and covering tight ends.
But the Giants cannot take Dallas lightly. The Cowboys still have a lot of talent on offense with receivers Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten roaming the field.
The Cowboys will get a boost this week with the return of starting left guard Kyle Kosier. Kosier’s return will bring some stability to Dallas’s offensive line and give Kitna some peace of mind—against New York’s pass rush, he will need it.
When New York has the ball, they will face a Dallas defense that is ranked 14th against the pass (allowing 214.4 yards per game) and 24th in rushing defense (allowing 123.9 yards per game).
The Giants should be able to exploit that matchup, as they bring the league’s third best rushing offense (151.9 yards per game) and are eighth in passing (259.4 yards per game) behind the solid arm of Eli Manning.
Rising star Hakeem Nicks leads all Giants receivers with 653 yards and 9 touchdowns. The nine touchdowns is tops in the NFL along with San Diego’s Antonio Gates.
Nicks gives Manning a legitimate threat at the wide receiver position and is flanked by receivers Steve Smith (uncertain for Sunday’s game due to a strained pectoral muscle) and Mario Manningham—both of whom are big-time threats.
As good as they are in the passing game, New York is equally strong in the ground game with the league’s third ranked running back Ahmad Bradshaw (765 rushing yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry). Only the Houston Texans’ Arian Foster and the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson are ahead of him for total yards.
Game time is at 4:15 p.m. EST.
The last time the teams met was in Week 7, with the Giants prevailing 41–35 and effectively nailing the coffin shut on the Cowboys’ season when they knocked out quarterback Tony Romo.
Since that game, it’s been a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions.
While the Giants have been on a five-game winning streak and are in first place in the NFC East, the Cowboys have been on a five-game losing streak, are last in the division, and have been outscored 80–24 since the two teams last met.
Such a putrid chain of events led to the firing of head coach Wade Phillips. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will act as interim head coach until Jerry Jones finds a big name to take over the team during the offseason.
Unlike the offense, the Dallas defense has no excuses with the majority of its starters playing healthy. This leaves many unanswered questions as to why this once proud unit has played so poorly and has done little to help out quarterback John Kitna and the slumping offense.
Whatever the case, things won’t get any easier on Sunday. Dallas’s offense will be facing off against one of the best defenses in the NFL and the defense will be forced to contain a powerful offense chocked full of playmakers.
Another mismatch is Jason Garrett coaching against one of the best in the business in Tom Coughlin.
While the Cowboys are ranked fourth in passing yards (283.6 per game), their ground game is anemic, ranked 31st overall and producing just 75.6 yards per game. They will be facing a Giants defense that is ranked second against the run (allowing 80.9 yards per game) and second in passing defense (allowing 169.8 yards per game). The Giants have also registered 24 quarterback sacks.
Regarding shutting down Dallas’s ground game, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was succinct in saying on www.giants.com, “It’s our job to try to destroy the run.”
As good as the Giants defense has been Fewell is confident that they can become even better. He said, “We’ve accomplished some things that we wanted to accomplish, but there’s a lot more that we can get better at and accomplish and if we just take it one week at a time, the sky is the limit.”
What makes playing against the Giants defense so tough is their secondary can essentially neutralize a team’s best receivers with the combination of safeties Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips, and cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster.
Linebacker Jonathan Goff is also playing extremely well in pass coverage and is effective in both run stopping and covering tight ends.
But the Giants cannot take Dallas lightly. The Cowboys still have a lot of talent on offense with receivers Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten roaming the field.
The Cowboys will get a boost this week with the return of starting left guard Kyle Kosier. Kosier’s return will bring some stability to Dallas’s offensive line and give Kitna some peace of mind—against New York’s pass rush, he will need it.
When New York has the ball, they will face a Dallas defense that is ranked 14th against the pass (allowing 214.4 yards per game) and 24th in rushing defense (allowing 123.9 yards per game).
The Giants should be able to exploit that matchup, as they bring the league’s third best rushing offense (151.9 yards per game) and are eighth in passing (259.4 yards per game) behind the solid arm of Eli Manning.
Rising star Hakeem Nicks leads all Giants receivers with 653 yards and 9 touchdowns. The nine touchdowns is tops in the NFL along with San Diego’s Antonio Gates.
Nicks gives Manning a legitimate threat at the wide receiver position and is flanked by receivers Steve Smith (uncertain for Sunday’s game due to a strained pectoral muscle) and Mario Manningham—both of whom are big-time threats.
As good as they are in the passing game, New York is equally strong in the ground game with the league’s third ranked running back Ahmad Bradshaw (765 rushing yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry). Only the Houston Texans’ Arian Foster and the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson are ahead of him for total yards.
Game time is at 4:15 p.m. EST.
