Who wins tonight?
Sentiments around the Cowboys right now are lower than they usually are at this point in the year following two straight losses. The team may have shown signs of life towards the end of their most recent game, or they may have just been racking up garbage time points against a team that let their foot off the gas too early.
One way or another, the Cowboys will get a chance to bounce back from it all with a Thursday night matchup against the Giants, a team they’ve dominated in the Dak Prescott era. Will that dominance continue, though? Let’s see what our writers think.
When New York has the ball
Contain Malik Nabers
The Giants’ offensive gameplan has been pretty simple this year: throw to Malik Nabers, throw to him again, and then throw to him one more time for good measure. Nabers leads the NFL in targets just three games into his NFL career, and Daniel Jones has a stellar 114.5 passer rating when targeting Nabers.
What about when Jones throws to anyone else? His passer rating drops all the way down to 75.7; for context, Titans quarterback Will Levis is 25th in the league with a 76.5 passer rating. Suffice it to say that the Cowboys should focus all their efforts on taking Nabers out of this game. Perhaps Trevon Diggs will get a chance to show off his coverage skills against the impressive rookie, maybe with a safety shading over to whichever side of the field Nabers is on.
When Dallas has the ball
Establish the run
Yes, we all know the Cowboys run defense is miserable right now. But what if I told you the Giants run defense is almost as bad? Only five defenses are allowing more yards per carry than New York right now, and the Giants are tied with Dallas for the most runs of 10+ yards given up so far. They’ve actually allowed more rushing yards over expected than Dallas too, which essentially means they’re giving up more than they should even if they called the right play.
That’s music to the Cowboys’ ears, as they’ve struggled to establish their run game so far this season. Rico Dowdle has flashed some promise, but he’s also had limited opportunities. This could be the game where the rushing attack gets on track, especially considering the Giants have a strong pass rush featuring Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence.
Now onto the predictions from your BTB writers…
Tom Ryle (1-2):
While I don’t say this with confidence, I expect Dallas to manage a win. I don’t think they’ll do it convincingly, and will have to rely on their most effective weapon, Brandon Aubrey, to edge the Giants.
Cowboys win, 23-20.
Matt Holleran (1-2):
It can’t get much worse, right? The Cowboys are a mess right now, but a game against the New York Giants may be just what they need to get back on track. Dallas has won six in a row and 13 of the last 14 matchups between the two teams.
I have no confidence that this game will change the long-term outlook for the Cowboys this season, but they are a better team than the Giants. It won’t be pretty and it won’t inspire much confidence, but the Cowboys get their second win of the year in New York.
Give me the Cowboys, 23-20.
Jess Haynie (2-1):
When was the last time we felt this much trepidation about a game against the Giants? And it’s not even like they’re good; that’s just how unreliable the Cowboys are right now. But if anyone can be a slump-buster, it’s our little buddies from New York. We saw Dallas bully the Browns a few weeks ago, and I think they can do the same here.
Cowboys 30, Giants 20.
Brandon Loree (1-2):
Coming into the season, I never believed a Thursday night matchup against the New York Giants would be a “must-win game,” but it’s certainly looking like that. The Cowboys are trying to stop a sinking ship with limited time to prepare. This is the team’s first time playing on the road with just three days rest. Maybe the offense’s game plan looks similar to what we saw against the Baltimore Ravens, but the team couldn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
The defense struggled to defend Lamar Jackson, and Daniel Jones has a similar ability to run, even though he’s inferior to Jackson’s athleticism. Overall, I believe that this iteration of the team can’t lose three games in a row with this type of talent and with their backs almost breaking through the wall at this point.
Give me the Cowboys to win 30-24, but I don’t feel good about it.
Mike Poland (2-1):
The Cowboys have some serious issues here. These last two games may be some of the worst football we’ve seen in a while. But let’s try and get some optimism here.
In the last ten meetings between the Cowboys and Giants, the Cowboys have won nine. The Giants offense ranks 29th in points per game, scoring an average of 15 points. The Cowboys are 12-0 in their last 12 games when allowing fewer than 22 points.
Cowboys win this one 24-20.
Dana Bartholomew (1-2):
While there is no guarantee that this Cowboys team will dominate the Giants as they did last season, this is the perfect opponent to begin repairing a lot of the issues on both sides of the ball. The Giants are 19th in the league in rushing yards per game. If the Cowboys are able to capitalize and stop the run, they should have some success against Daniel Jones with this pass rush.
The Cowboys showed some fight in the fourth quarter against the Ravens and there were some good things offensively and defensively that the team can build off of heading into New York. Hopefully, that comeback attempt instilled some confidence in the players. The Cowboys need this win. I think they will be able to stop the bleeding on TNF.
Cowboys 33-19.
Brian Martin (1-2):
As things stand right now after watching the Dallas Cowboys get absolutely embarrassed in back-to-back weeks, the New York Giants might provide the perfect bounce-back game for them to get things back on track.
Although predicting a victory against a division rival is never a sure thing, the Cowboys are are by far the more talented and superior team heading into this Week 4 matchup. If they play the way they are capable of playing they should win by a couple scores, if not they may as well throw in the towel the rest the season.
Give me the Cowboys 30-17.
Chris Halling (0-3):
The Dallas Cowboys have many holes. Their run defense is putrid. They can’t run the ball efficiently on offense. They don’t have a consistent wide receiver outside of CeeDee Lamb.
But c’mon, this is the New York Giants we’re talking about. The Daniel Jones-led New York Giants. The Cowboys win this one easily. It’ll have the fans a little more invested and optimistic, but it doesn’t mean very much. This win will have more to do with the Giants being bad than the Cowboys being good.
Cowboys win, 38-10.
RJ Ochoa (2-1):
The Dallas Cowboys are awful right now. But they are still not the New York Giants. My full prediction is that this is embarrassingly close for far too long but that Dallas survives, gets a divisional win and we all hate things a little bit less on Friday morning.
Give me the Cowboys, 23-16.
David Howman (2-1):
There’s plenty to be worried about in Dallas right now, but there is not a single fiber of my being that’s worried about this Thursday night game. Short of the Giants swapping out their players for actual, mythological giants, this is going to be a massive win for the Cowboys.
The offense finally showed signs of life last week, and I expect that to continue against an underperforming Giants defense. And I’ll take even this lousy Dallas defense against Daniel Jones, especially with Trevon Diggs available to shut down Malik Nabers. Give me a bounce-back win and a 40 burger before heading into the mini bye.
Cowboys win 43-13.
