Giants (2-6) Cowboys (4-3)
The Cowboys were on their bye last week, after coming off a 37-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles the week earlier.
Last week the Giants stayed close in their game in Detroit. They tried to overcome a mixture of good and bad plays, but ended up losing to the Lions 31-26.

Dallas Cowboys
Around this time last year, the Cowboys added wide receiver Amari Cooper to the team before the trade deadline. The Cowboys had a 3-4 record, and with Cooper boosting their passing offense, they went 7-2 down the stretch. Jerry Jones' trade deal was a smart move that helped them secure the NFC East division title. The Cowboys recently lost defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford (hip surgery) for the season, and so this year they picked up defensive end Michael Bennett to help on that side of the ball. Right now the Cowboys lead the division, and judging by all the numbers, Kellen Moore, the Cowboys' first year offensive coordinator, appears to have the team headed in the right direction.

Dallas Cowboys Offense
This offense ranks 6th in points per game, 4th in rushing yards, 3rd in passing yards, and 1st in overall yardage. Except for the rushing yards which were 10th, those are vast improvements from the 20+ rankings they finished with last year. Dak Prescott was struggling back then working without tight end Jason Witten who had retired, and Dez Bryant who was released. This year the Cowboys had Amari Cooper from the start, and after coming out of retirement, Witten is back on the field again.
Cooper is the leading receiver, and Witten is third, and just one catch behind Michael Gallup. It's easy to see the value these two players bring to the team. Ezekiel Elliott was the leading rusher and receiver last year. He's been limited to being responsible for 25 percent of the offensive output, compared to 34 percent last season. Elliott leads the team with 135 carries for 602 yards and has 6 touchdowns. This Cowboys offense leads all teams in the NFL, converting on nearly 52 percent of their third-down opportunities.

Dallas Cowboys Defense
Over the bye week, the Cowboys traded with the New England Patriots for defensive end Michael Bennett, giving up a conditional seventh-round pick in 2021. Bennett signed on with the Patriots just this year, and after one start in six active games, they were willing to let him go. Bennett had 2.5 sacks in his limited role, and will be anxious to show in his first outing that the Patriots made a big mistake. Defensive end Robert Quinn leads the team with 6.0 sacks, despite missing the first two games, and he works opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, who is second with 3.5 sacks.
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins leads the team in total pressures, and with Bennett in the mix, you have the makings of a great pass rush using just those four players. Behind them, you have aggressive linebackers Jaylon Smith, who leads the Cowboys in tackles, Leighton Vander Esch, who led the team last year, is second, and Sean Lee. In the secondary you'll likely remember speedy cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who caught up with Saquon Barkley on his 59-yard run in the opener to prevent a touchdown.

Giants Offense
Last week Daniel Jones threw 4 touchdown passes and had no interceptions, but the Giants still lost the game. It didn't help that Jones' incomplete pass to Saquon Barkley was ruled a lateral and picked up by Detroit for an easy touchdown return. Jones threw 2 touchdown passes to Darius Slayton, and one each to tight end Evan Engram and running back Saquon Barkley. That has Engram and Slayton tied for the team lead with 3 touchdowns receptions.
The Giants offense was clicking in Detroit, when they had 370 offensive yards including 24 first downs. In the last three games before that, they had season lows of 265, 213, and 211. They also converted on 7 of their 12 third-down opportunities, which was their second highest total of the season.
When the Giants met with the Cowboys in the first game, they were without Golden Tate. This time it looked as though Sterling Shepard would be missing, but he cleared concussion protocol. That means Jones will have all his weapons, Shepard, Tate, Engram and Barkley on hand for the first time this season. They'll need everything they have because the Cowboys have a tough defense.
UPDATE: Sterling Shepard is back in the concussion protocol and will miss this next game.

Giants Defense
The Giants are still struggling with a relatively young defense, and even though their four sacks on Matthew Stafford last week tied a season high, it wasn't enough to get the job done. During the week, the Giants added more experience to the unit by trading with the Jets for lineman Leonard Williams. He was the sixth overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, and the Jets, who will receive a 2020 third-round selection, and a 2021 fifth or fourth round under certain conditions.
The Giants feel that the combination of Williams playing along side of Dexter Lawrence, will increase the pressure they can bring up the middle. Markus Golden picked up his team leading sixth sack when he tackled Stafford for a nine-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Lorenzo Carter, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Grant Haley had the other sacks on him.

Overall
The Cowboys had no problems handing the Giants a 35-17 loss on the road in week 1. They have beaten every team in their division. If you take that, and look at all their stats, you would expect them to be leading the NFC East, as they are, but with a better win-loss record (4-3). The Cowboys are healthy coming off their bye week, and anxious to distance themselves from the pack.
The Giants are struggling, trying to figure out what they can, and cannot do while working in their rookie quarterback. They are 1-1 in the division, and can't afford to lose a second game to the Cowboys. With their overall 2-6 record, they actually can't afford to lose any games. If there's even a slim chance for the Giants to make a playoff run, it will have to start in this match up on Monday night.

NFC East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Redskins (1-7) at Bills (5-2).
Sunday at 1:00pm Bears (3-4) at Eagles (4-4)
Sunday at 8:15pm Cowboys (4-3) at Giants (2-6).
The Eagles and Cowboys are favored to win in these games. Check out.
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Notes.

Giants have lost five consecutive games to the Cowboys.

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