Cowboys vs. Giants: 5 Key to Win, Squashing Saquon, Thanksgiving Inactives List
The Dallas Cowboys will look to improve on that 7-3 record when the New York Giants come to town for the Thanksgiving Day/"Odell Beckham Jr. Bowl'' game at AT&T Stadium.
Both teams are coming off vastly different outcomes from last Sunday as Dallas blew the brakes off the Minnesota Vikings, while the Detroit Lions handled the Giants easily in a 31-18 win.
How do the Cowboys notch their eighth win of the season against the Giants?
Getting over some illness issues would help ... and here are Dallas' inactives: LB Anthony Barr (hamstring), NT Johnathan Hankins (illness), CB Kelvin Joseph (illness), DE Tarell Basham (illness), DE Takk McKinley, S Markquese Bell and QB Will Grier.
And ... by doing these five things.
Start fast: This was the catalyst for the Cowboys' win over the Vikings. Micah Parsons sacked Kirk Cousins on the opening drive, which resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Cowboys, and it turned into points.
Before Minnesota knew it, Dallas was up 23-3 at half-time. While producing scores from the first seven offensive drives as they did against the Vikings is not sustainable, scoring early puts pressure on the Giants from the outset and would have them playing from behind.
The last thing Dallas wants is for the game to be close entering the fourth quarter. Many say the Cowboys are the better team; prove it, score often and early to take any hope the depleted Giants have and squash it.
Control Saquon Barkley: Potentially the only arrow in Brian Daboll's quiver that could hurt Dallas. The league knows that one of the few areas of weakness for the Dallas defense is its ability to stop the run.
One could argue that the Vikings got away from the run game too early last week. Dallas will need to curtail Barkley. His 22 yards from 15 carries from last Sunday is unlikely to happen again, but the Cowboys will not want Barkley to ruin their Thanksgiving celebration.
Get after Daniel Jones: As coach Mike McCarthy has stated, "sacks are a privilege," so stopping the running game is paramount first. Do that; then the Cowboys can get after Daniel Jones. The Giants have given up 30 sacks on the year (ranking eighth), while the defensive juggernaut of Dallas has a league-leading 42 sacks.
There is an opportunity to make Jones' life seriously uncomfortable at AT&T Stadium. ... but watch out for Jones the runner.
Create turnovers: This is more complex than it used to be against the Giants. Jones, through his first two seasons had a bad habit of fumbling and throwing interceptions (22 in 27 games). But over his last 21 games, that has improved.
Last season, Jones only threw seven interceptions and has only four through 10 games.
Another thing is that the Giants' offense has only turned the ball over 11 times, with three coming against the Detroit Lions last Sunday.
But what Dallas is superb at is taking the ball away (16 turnovers through 10 games). We have seen the level of importance placed on winning the turnover battle, and for the Cowboys, it's one they must win.
Convert third downs: It sounds simple enough, but one of the Cowboys' most inconsistent issues has been their ability to convert third downs. A big reason for the 40-3 demolition of Minnesota last Sunday was their ability to convert their third-down chances (12 of 17 going at 70 percent). That'll work.
However, on average, Dallas converts just 41.54 percent of its attempts (13th in the NFL). It has been a focus for the offense and McCarthy throughout the season and will need to be a focus against the Giants.
That will be challenging, though. New York is the fifth-best third-down defense in the NFL, allowing just 34 percent of attempts to be converted. This, as much as anything, will play a crucial role in the game's outcome. ... with Dallas favored by as much as nine points and maybe the talent to achieve that.
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