Giants fans are almost as down on their team right now as Cowboys fans are. Almost.
The Dallas Cowboys play a Thursday night game this week against their NFC East rival, the New York Giants. We checked in with SB Nation’s Giants blog, Big Blue View, to get some intel on the enemy.
Blogging The Boys: So what was different this week with the win over the Browns?
Big Blue View: Mostly, the difference was the defense. Cleveland’s offensive line is in tatters right now, and lost a few players during the game, and DeShaun Watson is a BAD quarterback. Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, a normally conservative DC, went against type by blitzing 57% of the time. The Giants got eight sacks, 17 hits and 36 pressures. It was a jail break.
The Giants are also playing — somewhat unbelievably — pretty good offense. The offensive line has been competent. Daniel Jones has been good the past two weeks. Malik Nabers is special.
BTB: Where do you stand in regards to the future of Daniel Jones as the Giants QB?
BBV: I think Jones is the quarterback this year as long as the Giants remain relevant. Beyond that, I think the Giants will be moving on. Jones, though, has played well the last two weeks. If that continues, and the Giants are better than anticipated, maybe things change. But, more than likely he is a lame duck.
BTB: Same question but with Brian Daboll as the Giants head coach?
BBV: If the Giants had entered this game 0-3 my answer might be different. In all honesty, though, I think right now that Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are both safe. Ownership likes the fact that these two are tied together and really doesn’t have an appetite for blowing things up and starting over — again. As long as this season is competitive I think both are OK. If it goes off the rails, like 3-14, that might be a different story.
BTB: After the win, is there a sense that maybe the Giants could do something this year, or are the problems too deep?
BBV: Again, had they entered Thursday 0-3 I think the atmosphere at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night could have been ugly. Fans booed the Giants offense after three plays in the opener — which will happen when you go three-and-out and lose 9 yards. Now? I think there is a sense of guarded hope that maybe, just maybe, some good things might be happening. The Giants were routed by Minnesota — which looks like a good team. They should have beaten Washington — which looked like a good team on Monday. They were clearly better than the Browns.
There are issues. But, maybe not as many as you might think. The offensive line play has been competent. For the past two weeks, the quarterback play has been more than competent. Malik Nabers is a transformative superstar. The defensive front seven can be difference-making.
By no means could this be a great team that makes a deep playoff run. They could — and maybe should — be a middle of the pack team.
BTB: How do you see Thursday night playing out and what is the final score?
BBV: I have to preface this by saying no one on the BBV staff (there are six of us picking Giants games) has picked a game correctly yet. I will — with a hopeful heart — pick the Giants to win a game that is somewhere in the 20s. Maybe 27-24. These are the Cowboys, though. The Cowboys who ALWAYS beat the Giants. The Cowboys who have won six straight and 13 of 14 against the Giants. So, I’m picking the Giants win in a game where it feels like they should have a chance. History, though, says something will go wrong and Dallas fans will be celebrating in the end.
