New York Giants: Five to Watch in Week 12 vs. Cowboys
The New York Giants suffered their third loss of the season last Sunday to the Detroit Lions, coming up short 31-18 in a game the Giants were expected to win.
This matchup against the Lions marked the end of the easier part of the Giants' season as they embark on a seven-game stretch that has been considered the number one most challenging remaining schedule in the NFL.
This stretch of games kicks off with a quick turnaround Thanksgiving visit on Thursday against the team that delivered the Giants their first loss of the season, the Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants have lost two of their last three games and are eager to avoid making it three of their last four. With the Giants and the Cowboys tied at 7-3 in second place in the NFC East, this specific matchup is more than just a division rivalry between the two teams and boils down to playoff contention.
With so much at stake on Thanksgiving, the Giants will have to deliver a much better performance than what they produced last week. The Cowboys are hot off a dominant 40-3 win over the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings and won’t make it easy for the Giants to have their way on their home turf.
On that note, let’s dive into the five players/position groups that figure to play significant roles in their quest to remain in second place in the division.
QB Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones is coming off one of his worst performances in the regular season. After not committing a single turnover since Week 3, Jones conceded two interceptions against the Lions last Sunday, a concerning result seeing that his matchup on Thursday won’t be any easier.
Though Jones managed to finish the day with 341 passing yards, he only had a 61.4 completion percentage to show for and a passer rating that was well below the 153.3 career high he had a week before (74.1).
This Thursday, Jones will have to produce a strong response characterized by decisive, efficient play and, above all else, is turnover-less. The only catch for Jones is that the Cowboys haven’t gotten any worse since the Giants played them in Week 3, a day on which he struggled immensely. In that 23-16 loss, Jones completed only 54.1 percent of his 37 pass attempts for 196 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Fast forward to the present, the Cowboys' defense is first in the league in passing yards allowed per game (174.5), first in points allowed (16.7), first in sacks (42), and has seven interceptions to their name as well. This Cowboys pass defense is simply elite and is stacked with some of the best defensive playmakers in the league.
From the Cowboys' pass rush to their stingy secondary, Jones will need to bring his A-game on Thanksgiving and might have to tap into his running a bit more than usual to free up the space and passing lanes he’s looking to exploit. Keeping the Cowboys guessing is Jones’ best chance at leading this Giants offense to the success it needs to win. And that starts by using his legs and capitalizing on designed runs.
Punt Returners
On the first punt return attempt cornerback Adoree’ Jackson took against the Lions, he suffered an MCL sprain that will sideline him for multiple weeks. With Jackson originally set to be the Giants' new go-to punt returner, it begs the question of who do they fall back on now?
After Richie James coughed up two non-contact fumbles on punt returns against the Seattle Seahawks during Week 8--not to mention he's dealing with a knee injury as well--the Giants might be hesitant to rely on him once more. Should they opt out of doing so, they would be left with cornerback Darnay Holmes or possibly wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton from the practice squad.
Of these three candidates, the Giants' best bet would be to bring back James as their primary punt returner. The Giants can’t afford to lose another cornerback and would be wise to limit the punt return reps Holmes receives.
Pimpleton, on the other hand, could be a helpful asset on returns but does come with no NFL experience and might require some time to get a firm feel of the responsibilities he would be managing.
The Giants are currently 31st in the league in punt return yards per attempt (5.6) and are 24th in total punt return yards on the season (118). The Giants' offense will have its hands full with the Cowboys defense as is and could use a boost from its special teams returning unit that has found it difficult to make a greater impact every week.
Cornerbacks
The Giants pass coverage this season has been solid but nothing special. Sitting in 15th in passing yards allowed per game (211.8), the Giants are also 13th in passing yards allowed per play (6.48) and only concede 20.4 points, much better from their 24.5 a season ago. This improvement has been greatly influenced by the play of the Giants cornerbacks.
Despite the unit’s fluctuation with injuries, the Giants cornerbacks have been able to sustain their success regardless by melding their strengths together to form one cohesive group.
That said, the Giants lost their two starting cornerbacks to injuries last week against the Lions, with Jackson suffering a sprained MCL and Fabian Moreau to an oblique injury. Both are out for Thursday's game, which leaves the Giants with Darnay Holmes, second-year player Rodarius Williams (who returned from his torn ACL last week), rookie Cor’Dale Flott, and second-year man Nick McCloud.
With Holmes tasked with locking up the slot, it’s the outside that could be a concern for this Giants cornerback unit. As noted above, Williams just returned from his injury last week and still has plenty of rust to shake off.
In 13 pass coverage snaps last week, Williams allowed both his targets to be caught for 20 yards. In addition, Flott returned from a calf injury last Sunday that he sustained against the Cowboys in Week 3 and will likely need some time to settle back into a groove.
The Cowboys have three talented wide receivers that can cause matchup problems; CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Noah Brown. To add to it, the Cowboys aren’t afraid to use their running backs out of the backfield, as was illustrated by Tony Pollard last Sunday.
In their 40-3 win over the Vikings, Pollard caught all six of his targets for 109 yards and two touchdowns. This Cowboys' pass offense is explosive, and the Giants' corners will need to deliver their best game of the season if they want to give the Giants' offense a fighting chance.
Wide Receivers
Just when things couldn’t get any worse for the Giants offense, on the first play of the fourth quarter against the Lions, wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was pushed out of bounds and twisted his knee awkwardly upon falling. He was ruled out for the game, and a day later, it was confirmed that Robinson had suffered a torn ACL.
With Sterling Shepard and now Robinson out for the season, the Giants have had to rely on the next man up, and it hasn’t been an easy transition for this offense. Heading into their Thanksgiving game with the Cowboys, this reality has only become much more concerning, seeing how lethal the Cowboys' defense has been against the pass.
Though they are by no means having a ball-hawking type of season, the Cowboys' pass coverage has gelled into a lockdown unit that’s number one in the league in passing yards allowed and is 8th in passer rating allowed (85.4).
So what can we expect from the Giants' group of wide receivers come Thursday? The four wideouts that will likely be utilized most will be Darius Slayton, Richie James, Kenny Golladay, and Isaiah Hodgins. Slayton has been Jones’ best wide receiver spanning the last four weeks and was targeted a season-high nine times last Sunday.
Richie James has shown spurts of his speedy potential in the slot and caught all three targets he received last week for 48 yards and a touchdown. Golladay also surprised fans on Sunday and reeled in his sole two targets for 29 yards, while Hodgins has now caught all five targets that he’s had in his only two games in a Giants uniform.
How much success the Giants will have in the air is yet to be seen. But if they plan on giving the Cowboys pass defense a tough time, the Giants' wideouts will need to do their part and execute at a high-efficiency level.
Offensive Line
The Giants offensive line isn’t coming off a great game against the Lions. Jones sustained two sacks and 21 pressures, the second-highest output he’s received on the season. The most pressures Jones endured this season was a career-high 27, which came against none other than the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.
To make matters worse, the Giants lost some offensive linemen to injuries on Sunday, including center Jon Feliciano, guard Joshua Ezeudu, and guard Shane Lemieux, all of whom didn't make the trip to Dallas.Felciano and Ezeudu did not make the trip to Dallas, nor did Evan Neal or Shane Lemieux.
With the Giants offensive line so banged up, their success on Thursday will come down to players such as Andrew Thomas (assuming he is over his illness), Nick Gates, Jack Anderson, Matt Peart, Devery Hamilton, and Mark Glowinski.
Will that be enough against a Cowboys pass rush that is the best in the NFL right now? Even if Demarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler Jr. don’t play (both are dealing with injuries), the Cowboys will still have Micah Parsons (third in the league in sacks with 10), Sam Williams, and Dorance Armstrong, all dangerous threats that could pose severe problems on Thursday.
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