Giants Quick Preview: The Dallas Cowboys
After a strong 2-0 start, the Giants stay home to play the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. It’s the Giants only primetime game of the year and they hope to continue their momentum under the lights.
To the surprise of many, the Giants have started the 2022 regular season 2-0 after years of turmoil and adversity. They are in the first year of the Schoen and Daboll era where many around the organization have stated numerous times that this will take some time. The team still will probably need some to develop for them to be true contenders, but starting the regime with two straight wins goes a long way in shaping the culture. They now head into week three where they have to play their most hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have had to deal with their own adversity to start the year as they’ll be without their starting quarterback for this upcoming game. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is still recovering from a finger injury he suffered week one and won’t be back for at least a couple of weeks. In his place is Cooper Rush who is a competent backup who played pretty well last week. However the Giants defense will look to take advantage of Rush and stack another win.
Cowboys Look To Steady The Ship Until Prescott Returns
The Cowboys were considered a major Super Bowl threat before the season started as they had a really good season a year ago. Last year’s Rookie of the Year Linebacker Micah Parsons finished with 13 sacks and was named 1st team All-Pro. Cornerback Trevon Diggs led the league in interceptions with 11 and was also named 1st team All-Pro.
While the Cowboys did lose Randy Gregory to free agency and traded away Amari Cooper to the Browns this offseason, the Cowboys still had the talent to go far in 2022. Things flipped on its head in week one when they got crushed by the Buccaneers and to make matters worse, Prescott injured his finger late in the game that required him to have surgery and miss a chunk of time.
Dallas then would have to turn to Cooper Rush in relief and while there is a noticeable drop in his abilities, he played well last week against the Bengals. He didn’t make any silly mistakes that cost them the game and the Cowboys actually found a way to win the game thanks to a last-second field goal. This next game is very important for the Cowboys and the Giants know that. They would love to keep that winning record above .500 so that when Prescott returns, they can stay alive in the division race. The Giants have to play with aggression to stop that and they’ve shown to be a feisty group.
Detailing The Giants Gameplan Ahead Of Monday’s Matchup With The Cowboys
The Giants have to keep their foot on the gas pedal and ride the wave of momentum they’re currently on if they want to succeed on Monday Night Football. Historically, Giants QB Daniel Jones has not done good in primetime as he’s 0-8 in his career under the lights. The fact of the matter is you can’t put everything on Jones if you expect to win the game. Especially with Parsons on the other side, you can’t take any chances. Running Back Saquon Barkley has to be a key focal point of the offense if the Giants want to come away with a win. That means running it right up the middle and using Barkley in various ways through the passing game.
The Giants also have to start utilizing Wide Receiver Kadarius Toney more in the offense. He’s a game changing weapon and last year against the Cowboys, he caught ten passes for 189 yards. He was the best player on the field at some points and had a great day going against Trevon Diggs. Especially now that Kenny Golladay has seen a decrease in snaps, using Toney in creative ways and getting him integrated in the offense will be key only to successful drives Monday night. If Toney isn’t available to play, look for Richie James to fill that void as he currently has the most receptions on the team this season.
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The Giants defense has done a great job the last two weeks of making the opposing offense uncomfortable. Putting pressure on the quarterback is a staple of Giants Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale and that has to be used Monday against Cooper Rush. The Giants are third in the NFL the first two weeks in blitz percentage per dropback and using that against a backup QB will force quick decisions. First though, the Giants must stop the run. For that to happen, Defensive Tackle Dexter Lawrence has to step up and increase his role now that Leonard Williams is likely to be out Monday due to an MCL sprain he suffered last week against the Panthers.
Giants Injury Report
Quite a few Giants found their way on the injury report this week as we approach crunch time. Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari were still limited in practice this week after missing the first two games of the season. They however did more in practice than they did in the previous two weeks so there’s still hope they take the field against the Cowboys. They certainly need their presence on defense as the Giants rank in the bottom-half of the league in sacks so far this season with only three.
Leonard Williams and Wan’Dale Robinson didn’t practice Thursday due to knee injuries so they will most likely not be able to play Monday. Kadarius Toney surprisingly didn’t practice Saturday which puts his status in doubt. It’s concerning this close to kickoff that he’s not out there and as stated earlier, he can be a really big difference maker for the Giants offense.