|
Giants (5-2) vs Cowboys
(3-3)
The Cowboys had dropped two straight
games and were down at halftime on the road in Carolina last week.
They came from behind with Tony Romo
throwing for 227 yards and a touchdown and a with strong defense
to defeat the Panthers for the ninth straight time in the regular
season with a winning score of 19-14.
The Giants notched their first
division win by beating the Redskins 27-23. It wasn't easy, as
it came down to an Eli Manning 77-yard touchdown strike to Victor
Cruz with 1:13 left in the game. It was the longest game-winning
touchdown in the final two minutes of a fourth quarter in Giants
history.
Dallas Cowboys.
No doubt the Cowboys took out
some of the steam from the Giants by beating them in the season
opener straight from coming off their Championship season. Since
then the Giants have won five games and dropped just one. The
Cowboys have struggled and won just two more games while losing
three. Now here we are for the rematch with the Giants in first
place in the NFC East facing a Cowboys team in their own stadium
looking to get back on track by sweeping both division games.
Cowboys Offense.
Tony Romo looked great in that
first game against the Giants, completing 22 of his 29 passes
for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns against one interception. Romo
overcame numerous false start penalties his line drew and he led
his team to victory with a quarterback rating of 129.5. Those
are not the kind of numbers Romo has been able to carry forward
this season and he now has thrown more interceptions (9) than
touchdowns (8).
Last year All-Pro tight end Jason Witten was recovering from a
spleen injury in the last matchup and he caught just two passes
for 10 yards. Now, over the last three games, he's averaging about
8 catches and 80 yards a game. Kevin Ogletree came up big against
the Giants with 8 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns, but
that's not been his norm since.
Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are the top receivers with 806 yards
and 6 touchdowns. Running back
DeMarco Murray burned the Giants last time for 131 yards but will
miss another game. Felix Jones missed some practice and he and
Phillip Tanner combined for just 74 yards on 28 carries last week.
Without a fair running game it will be more on Romo to make things
happen.
Cowboys
Defense.
Beware DeMarcus Ware who was
the NFL's top pass rusher with 19.5 sacks last year. He hit Eli
Manning for two of the three sacks in their first game and he
currently totals 6.5 and has 3 forced fumbles. Anthony Spencer
has 3 sacks and was leading the team with nine quarterback pressures
before he missed two games where both times the Cowboys lost.
Ware, Spencer and lead tackler Sean Lee spell trouble for any
offense trying to pass or run the ball, but they will be without
their lead tackler defensive signal caller as Lee was placed on
season-ending injured reserve with a toe injury. The Cowboys secondary
has improved over last year, but it wasn't until last week that
the Cowboys secondary got their first interception of the season.
That makes a total of just two for the whole team with the one
from Sean Lee included.
Giants Offense.
In the first Cowboys game
at MetLife Stadium the offensive line allowed Eli Manning to be
sacked three times. They've done much better since and Manning
has taken only two more over the past six games. They seem to
have jelled with Sean Locklear at right tackle and David Diehl
is a bonus taking snaps as a jumbo tight end. The group has given
up the least amount of sacks of any team in the league and the
running game has improved. Ahmad Bradshaw did miss some practice,
but that never seems to stop him and there's always Andre Brown
and David Wilson in the mix.
Hakeem Nicks has struggled with foot and knee problems and has
played in two games since missing three. That means the receivers
are mostly healthy for a change so there are plenty of options
for Eli Manning who was a little inaccurate last week. Victor
Cruz is 3rd in the NFL with 627 receiving yards and is tied for
receiving touchdowns with 7. Tight end Martellus Bennett has been
very productive with 25 receptions for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns.
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Bennett gets
playing in front of his old home crowd after they saw him in his
first game snare 4 catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Giants Defense.
Defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul,
Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were shut out in the first game
against Tony Romo with the two sacks coming from Rocky Bernard
and Linval Joseph. Michael Boley picked him off for one interception,
but for the most part Romo was very effective with his arm averaging
10.6 yards per completion. He also was able to rely on running
back DeMarco Murray who won't be there for him this time, so it
looks like maybe the Giants 23rd ranked run defense gets a break.
Tony Romo will find a few changes. Former Cowboy Chris Canty played
in his first game back last week in the win over Washington. Cornerback
Prince Amukamara wasn't there for the first game and he has been
playing very well. Stevie Brown
will make his fourth straight start at safety opposite Antrel
Rolle. He has three interceptions, which is tied for the team
high with Michael Boley and overall this team is second in the
NFL with 12.
Overall
Jerry Jones opened his mouth in preseason about this game and
it's time for the Giants to keep up with the Joneses and even
the division score with a victory over the Cowboys. The Giants
are clearly playing better football than they did in that first
game, although you still have to give the Cowboys credit for winning
it. They, as well as the Giants, were playing their first physical
game of the season. They were on the road, had to swap in a center
who was new to the team and their top receiving tight end was
recovering from a serious injury. That shows you what these division
games are all about and how they can go. If you're a gambler you
should avoid them. If you're a fan you should just root like all
hell for your team.
NFC East
The other division teams play their games at 1pm on Sunday. It
will be the undefeated Atlanta Falcons (6-0) at Philadelphia (3-3)
and Washington (3-4) at Pittsburgh (3-3). The Giants and Eagles
are favored to win their games and the Cowboys and Redskins are
not.
From thirty two to sixteen
to six to three to two to one.
Atlanta in the NFC is the
only undefeated team with a 6-0 record. They were on a bye last
week so nothing changed. They will have to travel to Philadelphia
and beat the Eagles to continue the streak.
Check out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put
together.
There are some items you certainly haven't seen elsewhere, and
each sale helps out our site.
Giants DVDs
and Posters.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants Eli Manning has a 'Total
QBR of 87.6' in the last three road games against the Cowboys.
All other opposing quarterbacks have a combined 'Total QBR' of
52.2 at Cowboys Stadium.
Giants Eli Manning is 26-5 all-time
in October, the best record for any starting quarterback since
the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
Giants, with a win, would start their
seventh of nine seasons at 6-2 or better with Tom Coughlin as
coach.
Giants two division losses were
24-17 to the Cowboys and 19-17 to Philadelphia.
Cowboys Tony Romo was sacked a career-high
36 times last year.
Cowboys Tony Romo has yet to be sacked
on first down all season.
Cowboys have had half of their 3rd
down plays with third-and-7 or longer.
Cowboys have turned the ball over
13 times in six games with 9 interceptions and 4 fumbles.
Cowboys have not won consecutive
games since their four-game win streak last November.
Cowboys in their new stadium (2009)
are 0-3 at home against the Giants.
Next Games
Nov 4 - Pittsburgh at Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
Nov 11 - Giants at
Cincinnati.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
| 
