The Dallas Cowboys whipped the New York Giants twice last season, including a 40-0 demolition in a primetime affair at the Meadowlands.
Dallas returns to the scene for another primetime contest against the Giants on Thursday night when the two NFC East teams meet at East Rutherford, N.J.
Dallas has won the past six meetings and 13 of the past 14 with New York, with last season’s trouncing of the Giants in the season opener the most one-sided of those contests.
The Cowboys led 26-0 before the middle of the second quarter as Giants fans booed their team all night long.
“I’m a person, every game I act like it’s the Super Bowl for me, for myself,” New York safety Jason Pinnock said Tuesday. “But, of course, you do remember. I think everybody will remember home opener being beat like that on primetime TV.”
Dallas (1-2) hasn’t been so fearsome to start this season. After defeating the Cleveland Browns in the opener, the Cowboys have been routed by the New Orleans Saints and then lost 28-25 in a misleading final score to the visiting Baltimore Ravens last weekend.
The Cowboys scored 19 unanswered fourth-quarter points to make it close, but the comeback didn’t mask the issues.
“We’ve got to get it right,” Dallas star linebacker Micah Parsons said. “You know what I’m saying? This is a winning organization. I’ll uphold that standard, but at the same time, everyone has to uphold the standard. And I think I’m confident in my faith, and I just think we’re being tested right now. I really believe we’re being tested. It has to come together. It’s humbling.”
Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence didn’t like seeing his squad trailing by 22 points at home.
“It doesn’t matter how much willpower you have at the end,” Lawrence said. “If you don’t start good, most likely you’re not gonna finish good, so the outcome is the outcome. Only thing we can do is go and review it and get better from it.”
New York (1-2) won 21-15 at Cleveland last Sunday for its first victory.
Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns for the second straight game while passing for a season-high 236 yards.
The Giants suddenly have a chance to be .500 after opening with two losses. However, the dreaded Cowboys are back in town. In last season’s other meeting, host Dallas won 49-17.
“Yeah, we don’t like losing to anybody, especially a divisional game,” Jones said. “We understand what this game means, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has passed for an NFL-best 851 yards as well as four touchdowns. He also has been intercepted twice and sacked nine times.
Dallas’ run game is sagging with Rico Dowdle leading the way with 88 yards and Ezekiel Elliott contributing 62. The Cowboys rank 30th in the NFL with an average of 73.7 rushing yards per game.
Parsons, the fourth-year star, has just 12 tackles and one sack. He had 40.5 sacks over his first three seasons.
New York ranks 29th in scoring offense at 15 points per game. Jones has passed for 600 yards with rookie wideout Malik Nabers (271 yards) accumulating 45 percent of the yardage. Nabers has three touchdown receptions.
“I have confidence in all our guys,” Jones said, “and Malik’s played well, but we’ve got a lot of good receivers.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is impressed with what he has seen of Nabers.
“He has the size and the speed and the body control,” McCarthy said. “I think he’s a very exciting player when the ball’s in the air. That’s what stands out to me.”
New York cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips both sat out practice on Tuesday due calf injuries. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (foot) was limited.
Dallas cornerback Caelen Carson (shoulder) and safety Markquese Bell (ankle) both sat out Tuesday, and McCarthy termed the duo game-time decisions.
–Field Level Media