Team Giants

Giants - Cowboys Game 8 preview

Giants (6-1) vs Dallas (5-3).
The Cowboys broke a two game losing streak with a 13-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A loss to the Bucs would have put them at .500 with a chance of being under that going into their bye week after the Giants game. They managed it without injured starter Tony Romo. After throwing 3 interceptions in a loss to the Rams in their previous game, backup quarterback Brad Johnson played it ultra careful. He threw no interceptions and even had one touchdown pass (2 yards) on a drive that was seriously helped along by Tampa Bay's four penalties. Brad's 122 yards passing and Cowboys overall offensive total of 172 yards was their fewest ever in a win. The Giants played a high intensity game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and came away with a 21-14 win. The defense played sharp. The offense was weak in the redzone.

Dallas.
The Giants certainly shocked the Cowboys when they beat them in their own stadium last year and knocked them out of the playoffs. The Cowboys went 13-3 during the season, had sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl, and were given home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, but postseason play ended quickly. The Cowboys loss to the Giants in a divisional playoff game was their fourth playoff loss in a row, and so they haven't won a playoff game since 1996. No worry, they traded for suspended cornerback Adam Jones to further strengthen their team for this year. Unfortunately, Packman, who previously had a record of six arrests and several involvements with the police, was recently suspended four games after an alleged violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Giants Offense
They could have been better, but to be fair, they were up against one of the best defenses in the league. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward each were held to an average of under three yards per carry. Jacobs couldn't even score from about the one foot line although it looked like he did. Eli Manning was steady as you go and very effective with his passing and leading the team downfield, but six drives into the rezone resulted in just one touchdown. Even if you think that Brandon Jacobs' two back to back attempts were bad calls by the refs, the added touchdown wouldn't raise the Giants much off their 27th ranking in the redzone touchdown area.

Giants Defense.
They did get hit with a few big plays last week. Mewelde Moore had a 32-yard touchdown run and Nate Washington caught a 65-yard touchdown pass, but overall the Giants kept the Steelers off balance. They picked five sacks and four interceptions. Ben Roethlisberger and his group weren't able to put together any sustained drives, converting just 1 of 10 third-down attempts against this Giants defense, which left Roethlisberger with a passer rating of 38.5.

Dallas Offense.
You can take away a number of things from an offensive unit, but the one that hurts the most is the starting quarterback. Unless you have a budding undiscovered superstar in the wings, you have a big problem. Brad Johnson is not budding (16 NFL seasons) and he has a weak arm. Johnson got the ball to game breaker Terrell Owens five times, but for only 33 yards (the team high). His longest pass was a dump off to runningback Marion Barber for 14 yards. Barber was tough against the Giants last year in their three matchups, with 228 yards on 50 carries (4.6 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns, Even with one of the biggest offensive lines in the NFL, he shouldn't be as effective without a passing game to compliment his running. Aside from other missing players, tight end Jason Witten, the NFC's leading receiver, may be out or play this game hurt because of a broken rib. Tony Romo and all the key starters on both offense and defense are expected back after the Cowboys bye week to play in their game against Washington.

Dallas Defense.
With their offense hurting, the Cowboys will be relying on their defense in a big way. They were able to do it last week, holding Tampa Bay to just three field goals for 9 points in their six drives into Cowboy territory. That's how you help your offense win with just 13 points. They also know that the Giants have struggled in the red zone and may be pressing in that area, which could lead to turnover opportunities. DeMarcus Ware is tough and he leads the NFL with nine sacks. The Cowboys are happy with first-round pick Mike Jenkins and fifth-rounder Orlando Scandrick and they are expecting another cornerback, Anthony Henry, recovering from a bruised thigh, to play in this game against the Giants. They will have to cover Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, who have a nice size advantage.

Trap Game or Giants untested.
The Giants ran into a trap game against Cleveland, but these NFC East division games are never taken lightly and don't fit in that category. There are no mysteries to be discovered by these teams that regularly play against each other twice a year. The Giants won't be taking things lightly, and once they line up, facing those Cowboy uniforms in front of them, they'll be ready for a tough physical division game. That said, even coming away with a win and a 7-1 record, the Giants will still hear that they are catching their opponents at the "right time".

NFC East.
All the NFC East teams won their games last week. The Eagles will fly to Seattle to play the Seahawks at 4:15 on Sunday. Washington hosts the Steelers on Monday night. Ironically, the physically punishing game the Giants played last week against the Steelers makes this an easier matchup for the Redskins. A Giants win would put them three games up on the Cowboys in the standings and if the favored Eagles win over the Seahawks, Dallas would drop to last place in the NFC East.

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Notes.
Cowboys Brad Johnson's 2 yard TD toss last week moved him into 51st place on the career list, notable because he passed Troy Aikman.

Cowboys playing without Tony Romo are averaging about 100 less passing yards and about 30 less running yards per game.

Cowboys Marion Barber's 611 yards are sixth-most in the NFL.
He's also third in the NFL with 887 yards from scrimmage (611 rushing, 276 receiving) and is second with 50 first downs.

Giants Mathias Kiwanuka, who had three sacks against Pittsburgh last game, was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

This will be Tom Coughlin's 200th NFL regular season game.

The combined winning percentage of the four NFC East teams is .700.
All four teams are ranked in the top 10 in both offense and defense.

Next Game
Nov. 9 Giants at Eagles at 8:15PM.
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Next Home Game
Nov. 16 Ravens at Giants at 1:00PM.
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