Dallas Cowboys 2023 Games

Cowboys at Giants game preview: 5 things to watch

Here are five things you should be looking for as the Cowboys take on the Giants Sunday afternoon.

By Tony Catalina@Tony_Catalina Dec 17, 2021, 8:00am CST

The Cowboys are heading into East Rutherford, New Jersey on a two-game winning streak, but if you asked media and fans alike, you wouldn't believe that to be true. The offense has struggled with many of the eyes pointed towards QB1. Whether warranted or not, the Cowboys will need to get the offense rolling again, and quickly.

Enter the New York Giants. The offense needs a ‘get right’ game, and if history tells us anything, its that Dak sure does enjoy playing against the team from Jersey. The way the defense is playing, the offense just needs to find a way to pull their weight, and a trip to see the Giants may just be what the doctor ordered.

Here are five things to watch this week:

1. Terence Steele at left tackle.

This will be Steele’s third crack on the blind side, and it comes at a time where the offense needs to get going, and in a hurry. The Playoffs are within sight and the time to fix things is running out, and Dak and the boys have not been particularly good as of late. The left tackle has the potential to ruin a game plan if it is an off day, so the Cowboys are hoping to see the best version of Steele out there on Sunday or we could have another long week of questions and concerns.

2. The defense building continuity.

It is hard to imagine that the Cowboys defense has really just begun to show us who they are, but that's the reality of the situation. Some of the returning players such as Neville Gallimore, Randy Gregory, and DeMarcus Lawrence are still on pitch counts as they ease back in from injuries, and as the governor gets taken off those guys and they are able to increase their snap counts, the production and opportunities will continue to grow as well. This defense is still looking to gel together as many have not played a ton of snaps together as a full cohesive unit. Now, with about a month left before the playoffs. there is a real chance we could see this defense continue to elevate its play.

3. Who will be the left guard on Sunday?

For the past month the left guard spot has been manned by Connor McGovern, as he took over for the often flagged Connor Williams, to try and upgrade the position. McGovern’s future is still bright and he has learned a lot during his time out there, but at this time Connor Williams is the better player and the word around the team is that a change back to Williams is in the works, although nothing has been confirmed officially. The entire team understands that December is where the rubber meets the road in the NFL. With everything they want still in front of them they need to do a real self-reflection of all aspects of this team and make a move where the deem is best for this team moving forward, and this change may be just that.

4. This has to be the game Dak Prescott finds his groove.

Historically speaking, Dak thrives against the New York Giants. Since 2017 Prescott is 8-0 with a QB rating of 113.5 versus the New York Giants. Comfortability should not be an issue this week as he has another crack at a reeling familiar foe. In the NFL, sometimes it just takes one game for a player to get his swagger back. In Dak’s case if he goes out there and lights it up, it would do so much for his, and the entire offense’s confidence, going forward. This game has all the makings of a ‘get right’ game for #4 and if all goes well it could pay dividends as the team heads into the playoffs.

5. What will Micah Parsons do next?

At this point the young rookie phenom from Penn State is must watch television. Squarely entrenched in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, whenever he touches the field or there is a big moment you just feel like Parsons is going to come up big for the defense. There is no question the man wears many hats, and he has met every challenge Dan Quinn has thrown at him thus far. With the addition of some other key members of the defense, we very well could see some more ‘wow’ plays from Micah Parsons.