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Giants - Cowboys
Game 1 preview
Sun Sept 13, 8:30 PM - Giants at Cowboys

Giants (0-0) vs Cowboys (0-0)
Last year the Cowboys won the NFC Division title with a 12-4 record and advanced to the playoffs.
The Giants finished third in the division with a 6-10 record and lost both division games to the Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys
Last year at this time we asked if Tony Romo's career would last long enough for him to win a Super Bowl or at least another playoff game. It turned out that he led his team to a division title with a 12-4 record. In one of the best seasons of his career, Romo topped the league with a completion record of 69.9 percent and with passing yardage that was also the best at 8.52 yards per attempt. He did get that playoff win and had the Cowboys up 21-20 in the fourth quarter of the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Green Bay, but the Packers came back to win it 26-21.
This season the Cowboys strengthened their already formidable offensive line to the point where they were willing to let their top running back, NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray, walk. Remember Murray broke Emmitt Smith's franchise record with 1,845 yards rushing, but he now resides with NFC East-rival Philadelphia. There's the thought that anyone can play the running back position behind this line, but they'd better be right. One of the reasons Romo did so well was that their strong running game had to be respected.

Dallas Cowboys Offense
It can't be stressed enough that losing DeMarco Murray to free agency could lead to their downfall this season. It's going to be hard to match his 4.7 yards a carry with the replacements the Cowboys have available. Joseph Randle was second in line last year, but there are big shoes to fill. Aside from his running Murray was a great outlet for Romo with his 57 receptions putting him third on the team in that area behind receivers Jason Witten (64) and Dez Bryant (88). It should be noted that their passing connection missed only 7 times.
The Cowboys added
Darren McFadden in free agency and they still have mostly untested Lance Dunbar, but just last week they gave the Seahawks a conditional late-round pick for running back Christine Michael. It may take a few games for this position to work itself out.
Romo missed some valuable time working with Dez Bryant in the offseason because of contract issues and then Bryant injured a hamstring. They held him back in preseason, but say he's good to go. Last season was his best, as he caught 88 passes for 1,320 yards and led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions. Bryant came close to saving their last playoff game in the fourth quarter when Romo threw him a deep pass on a fourth-and-2. After being ruled a catch near the goal line it was overturned on review, leading to their loss.
Tight end Jason Witten is 33 years old, but doesn't seem to slow down. He consistently averages 11 yards a catch, takes tough hits and hasn't fumbled a ball in three years. Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley both had 37 catches last year, most for first downs and a few big plays.

Dallas Cowboys Defense
This defense forced 31 turnovers last season and only one team had more. Sacks didn't come easy though and with 28, they ranked 28th compared to the other teams. Randy Gregory, the team’s second-round draft choice should help in that area. Another fix was adding pass rushing defensive end Greg Hardy to the team. He had 15 sacks for the Panthers in 2013 and 1 in their first game in 2014, but then missed playing the rest of the season because of legal issues. The Cowboys signed Hardy despite the fact he was facing a ten game suspension and luckily for both parties, that was reduced to just four games in arbitration.
Rolando McClain, the former eighth overall pick of the 2010 draft, was considered a first round bust for Oakland and even sat out the 2013 season, but he proved his worth last year for the Cowboys filling in for Sean Lee. McClain is currently on a four game suspension for substance abuse so both he and Hardy will miss this game.
Sean Lee, in his first four years with the Cowboys, missed 18 games and then a torn anterior cruciate ligament had him miss all last season.
The secondary was a weak spot for the Cowboys and they've lost their best cornerback, Orlando Scandrick to a season-ending knee injury. No secondary would be happy to see Odel Beckham Jr. coming their way and that would include Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr. Carr was the cover guy last November and is featured in all those photos where Beckham is shown making that amazing one handed catch against him.
Rookie cornerback Byron Jones will have to become a fast learner if the Giants get on a roll.

NY Giants
Coming off a winning Super Bowl season, the Giants went 9-7 and fell short of the 2012 playoffs when the Redskins took the division with 10 wins. The Giants had a worse record in 2013, finishing 7-9 and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride left. Then in 2014 with a 6-10 record, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was dismissed. If the Giants continue to stumble there's only one big coaching cog left - Tom Coughlin. Despite a disappointing season, last year's offense under Ben McAdoo ranked 10th overall in the NFL, up from 28th. Passing became solid, and the running game showed some improvement.
The defense was another matter as they dropped from 8th overall in yards allowed to 29th. As average as the passing defense seemed at times, defending against the run was worse, ranking them third from last. The fixes the Giants installed included bringing back their former successful defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo. Mike Sullivan also returned to fill his old position as quarterbacks coach. Both coaches had pursued opportunities elsewhere to move up in the coaching ranks, but are back now. Surely their experiences with other teams broadened their knowledge base, and that's an added bonus for the Giants.

Giants offense
This unit ended the season on a strong note. In the last six games they scored at least 24 points in each game, including the one against the Cowboys. They didn't look sharp at all in preseason, but we'll know a lot more after Sunday night. Eli Manning won't have Victor Cruz available as he is still recovering from a calf injury, but he does have Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle, Dwayne Harris, Preston Parker and tight end Larry Donnell.
The running game has
Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Shane Vereen and Orleans Darkwa. Vereen was instrumental in the last game he played. He helped his New England team win Super Bowl XLIX in February with 11 receptions. That was a record for the most by a running back in a Super Bowl. Jennings should start and we'll see how they mix things up for the Cowboys with the others.

Giants defense
Everyone loves to see their team sack the opposing quarterback and when you think of JPP, that's where your mind goes, but he is also a great run stopper. Whatever happens down the line, he will surely be missed in this game going up against the possibly ineffective running game the Cowboys are testing.
Tackle Johnathan Hankins played big last year and will be counted on, and Damontre Moore and Jay Bromley now have more experience under their belts. Jon Beason will miss this game, so who is the middle linebacker?
It won't be Jasper Brinkley just released by the Cowboys on Monday and picked up by the Giants.
Uani Unga looks to fill that position as he makes his first career start. It's also the first start for safety Landon Collins. The Giants traded up to select him in the second round of the draft and the Cowboys are sure to test him out, as well as Cooper Taylor drafted in 2013. Taylor has barely played, finishing his two seasons on the injured reserve list. Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie know what to expect from the Cowboys. It would be great if the Giants could muster some kind of up front quarterback pressure and it will interesting to see the effect of having Steve Spagnuolo back as coordinator. When he was here last in 2007 and 2008 his units finished 7th and 5th in total yards allowed.

Overall
You hear a lot about the Cowboys offensive line and there's good reason for it so let's assume the Giants pass rush won't be able to get to Tony Romo. They'll have to be effective at stopping the run. The Cowboys felt that their dominant offensive line was strong enough to wave good-bye to DeMarco Murray. If the Giants can prove them wrong that would be fine. Then they'll have to be ready to cover more passes to the likes of Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and some running back blocking and then breaking out for a pass. Expect the Cowboys to be able to move the ball and put up points.
If Manning is on target his passing can match whatever Romo does, but they really need to control this game with the run. The Giants offense needs to stay on the field and keep their own defensive unit on the sidelines. The more time Spags has to figure out weaknesses in the Cowboys passing game, the better. His unit needs to lull Romo into a few mistakes so Manning will have even more opportunities to score on the Cowboys.

NFC East
On Sunday, before the Giants play against the Cowboys, the Redskins host the Dolphins at 1:00pm. The Eagles travel to play in Atlanta for a Monday night game at 7:10pm. The Cowboys and Eagles are favored to win in these games. Check out.
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Notes - Giants.

The Giants have lost four straight games to the Cowboys.

Odell Beckham Jr. has 9 straight games with at least 90 yards and is tied with former Cowboy Michael Irvin.

Rueben Randle had career highs of 71 catches and 938 yards last year.

Tom Coughlin is the oldest head coach in the league.

Notes - Cowboys.

Dez Bryant led the NFL with a franchise-record 16 touchdowns.

The Cowboys are 7-0 against the Giants in season openers.

The Cowboys have the highest season-opening winning percentage in the NFL.


Next Games
Sept 20 - Atlanta at Giants
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Sept 24 - Washington at Giants
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