Even though the Dallas Cowboys are 1-4 and according to past NFL statistics only have an approximate 5% chance of making the playoffs, we can still hope for a miracle turnaround. If that's going to happen, it needs to start on Monday night when Dallas welcomes a NFC East opponent to JerryWorld. The New York Giants have righted their season after a shaky start and their defense is starting to resemble the Giants defense we've come to know and hate in the recent past. They have 21 sacks so far on the season and they decimated a Bears squad that came to Dallas and whooped our 'Boys. Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka are all active in the sack department, especially Umenyiora, who appears to have returned to form.
On offense, Ahmad Bradshaw has assumed the primary back role from Brandon Jacobs and is averaging a healthy 5.3 yards per carry. But the Cowboys really need to be concerned with the Giants receiving corps, especially emerging star Hakeem Nicks. He already has six touchdowns on the season, and paired with Steve Smith, who has given the Cowboys fits, the Giants can do some serious damage through the air. The Dallas secondary has been shaky all season, Mike Jenkins has resumed the spotty play we saw from him in his rookie season instead of progressing on his breakout 2009 season. Orlando Scandrick will probably see a lot of Smith in the slot, and that's a matchup New York has exploited previously.
If the Cowboys are going to start the miracle turnaround we're all hoping for, they'll need to start by shutting down the Giants passing game. Perhaps a better way of getting that done would be to get after Eli Manning and stop the passes before they even start. On offense, Dallas will need to control the Giants pass rush, something they were doing early in the season but recently have struggled doing.
After the jump are some notes on the game...
NEW YORK GIANTS (4-2) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (1-4)
SERIES
|
GIANTS |
COWBOYS |
SERIES LEADER |
55-38-2 |
|
STREAKS |
3 of past 4 |
|
COACHES VS. OPP. |
Coughlin: 9-7 |
Phillips: 3-5 |
LAST WEEK |
W 28-20 vs. Lions |
L 24-21 at Vikings |
LAST GAME |
12/6/09: Cowboys 24 at Giants 31. New York WR-KR-PR Domenik Hixon returns punt 79 yards for TD with 5:33 remaining to put game out of reach as Giants hold on for win. |
|
LAST GAME AT SITE |
9/20/09: Giants 33, Cowboys 31. New York K Lawrence Tynes converts 37-yard FG as time expires to propel Giants to victory in 1st game played at Cowboys Stadium. |
|
BROADCAST |
ESPN (7:30 PM CT): Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden. Westwood One Radio: Kevin Harlan, Michael Irvin, Kevin Kiley (Field reporter). SIRIUS: 124 (WW1), 125 (NYG), 126 (Dal). XM: 124 (WW1), 102 (NYG), 103 (Dal). |
STATS
PASSING |
Manning: 132-204-1,479-10 (T2C)-8-86.2 |
Romo: 143-206-1,566 (2C)-10 (T2C)-7-93.6 |
RUSHING |
Bradshaw: 110-582 (1C)-4.3-3 |
Jones: 51-229-4.5-0 |
RECEIVING |
Nicks: 36 (T3C)-417-11.6-6 (T1C) |
Austin: 33-486 (2C)-14.7-2 |
OFFENSE |
370.7 (3C) |
400.0 (1C) |
TAKE/GIVE |
-2 |
-5 |
DEFENSE |
264.8 (1C) |
281.4 (2C) |
SACKS |
Umenyiora: 8 (2L) |
Ware: 7 (3L) |
INTs |
Grant, Thomas: 2 |
Jenkins, McCray: 1 |
PUNTING |
Dodge (R): 45.2 |
McBriar: 44.1 |
KICKING |
Tynes: 28 (13/13 PAT; 5/8 FG) |
Buehler: 30 (12/12 PAT; 6/9 FG) |
NOTES
GIANTS: QB ELI MANNING is 19-4 (.826) as starter in Oct., best mark among QBs who began career in SB era (min. 20 starts). Has 20,123 career passing yards & joined PHIL SIMMS as only Giants with 20,000...RB AHMAD BRADSHAW rushed for 133 yards last week. Leads NFC in rushing (582 yards) & ranks 2nd in scrimmage yards (675). RB BRANDON JACOBS rushed for 2 TDs last week & has 4 rush TDs in past 3...WR HAKEEM NICKS ties for NFC lead with 6 rec. TDs. WR STEVE SMITH has 16 catches for 244 yards (122 per game) & TD in past 2 vs. Dal. In 9/20/09 meeting, WR MARIO MANNINGHAM had career-high 10 catches & 150 yards with TD...DE OSI UMENYIORA has 7 sacks & 6 FFs in past 3. Aims for 4th in row with 2+ sacks & 2+ FFs. DE JUSTIN TUCK has 4 sacks, 2 FRs & FF in past 3. Incl. playoffs, club has won 14 in row when Tuck has sack. S KENNY PHILLIPS had career-high 2 INTs vs. Dal. (9/20/09).
COWBOYS: QB TONY ROMO has posted 100+ rating in 4 of past 5 vs. NYG. Incl. playoffs, team is 28-5 (.848) when he starts & has 100+ rating. Aims for 3rd in row with 3+ TD passes...RB MARION BARBER rushed for 124 yards & TD in last meeting at home. Incl. playoffs, RB FELIX JONES has 8 career TDs (7 rush, 1 KR) & averages 47.1 yards per TD (377 yards)...WR ROY WILLIAMS has 5 rec. TDs in past 3, incl. 2 last week. Aims for 4th in row with TD catch. Had 2 TDs in last meeting. WR MILES AUSTIN had 10 catches for 104 yards & TD in last game vs. NYG. TE JASON WITTEN had 14 receptions for career-high 156 yards in last meeting...LB DE MARCUS WARE has 6 sacks in past 3 & aims for 4th in row with sack. Has 6 sacks, 3 FFs & FR in past 5 vs. NYG. Ware has 63.5 sacks since 2006, most in NFL. CB MIKE JENKINS had INT in last meeting & has 2 INTs in career vs. NYG, incl. 23-yard INT-TD.