New York Giants: Three Keys to a Chance at a Week 5 Win at Dallas

Coach Gene Clemmons has three keys for the New York Giants to pull off another stunning upset this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Oct 8, 2021 7:20 PM EDT

This Sunday's game against division foe Dallas should be an entertaining game, but admittedly, it will be difficult for the Giants to come home with a second straight road victory (though you still have to line up to play the game, right?)

The Cowboys are playing extremely well. This Sunday's game against division foe Dallas should be entertaining, but admittedly, it will be difficult for the Giants to come home with a second straight road victory (though you still have to line up to play the game, right?)

The Cowboys are playing exceptionally well right now, and they have received big contributions from guys on the offensive and defensive end. Dak Prescott will find added motivation playing in the game where his 2020 season was cut short. Prescott was playing some of the best football of his career then and has picked up this year, where he left off last season.

The Giants are coming off their first win of the season. The record doesn't reflect it, but Daniel Jones has been great so far, doubling as New York's leading passer and rusher.

He will be instrumental if the Giants hope to win, but these three keys can unlock the path to victory for New York. They will go a long way in determining if the Giants can put another check in the win column.

Key 1: Avoid CB Trevon Diggs

Diggs is not Deion Sanders, but he is really hot, having recorded five interceptions in four games.

Diggs is unique because he is a receiver converted to corner. There have been other defensive backs who played receiver and converted in college, and many of those players have a nose for the football.

Receiver converts also locate and track the ball well, high point the ball, and catch. That last part is vital because the old criticism of defensive backs is that they play defense because they cannot catch.

Diggs has used his receiver skills to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and he is the early favorite for "Defensive Player of the Year" honors. The Giants don't need to prove they can outwit or outmatched Diggs. Their reality is they have more than enough weapons to work around him.

It will be interesting to see if Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn lines Diggs up against a specific receiver (Kenny Golladay?) or if they leave him on one side. The Giants are good at throwing intermediate passes, and they do a great job of designing those concepts.

The Giants will be without Shepard and Slayton, but their absences won't leave New York without other options to occupy Diggs while they attempt to work the other side or underneath him.

Tight ends have also managed to be productive against Dallas, catching 20 balls for 252 yards and three touchdowns this season. Hopefully, Evan Engram and/or Kyle Rudolph will get opportunities to make their mark against the Cowboys.

Also, expect a heavier target share for Saquon Barkley out of the backfield. When defensive backs are hot like Diggs is right now, it is usually best to let them cool off because the ball just has a way of finding them.

Hopefully, for New York, this is the game that he finally cools down.

Key 2: Play 11-on-11 Football on Offense

One of the ways this offense has evolved during this season is the acceptance of Daniel Jones as an offensive weapon with his legs.

A couple of weeks ago, against the Washington Football Team, the Giants began running zone-read plays with Jones and had a lot of success. It forced the defense to consider Jones a threat to run the ball, so teams must account for him as a potential runner moving forward.

A mobile quarterback able to make plays with his legs is an advantage that Baltimore, Arizona, Seattle, Kansas City, Buffalo, and Philadelphia enjoy in their respective offenses. The threat of the quarterback as a legitimate runner is daunting for a defense because you never know when he will take off.

Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett no doubt realizes this, which is why he's added more RPOs, sprint outs, and bootlegs to the playbook to take advantage of Jones' threat as a runner in the last few weeks. The results have been there, as Jones leads the Giants rushers this year.

But more importantly, his being able to run takes the pressure off of an offensive line that is still trying to find consistency because it makes defensive linemen less aggressive because if they get too far up the field, they may open up an escape lane for Jones.

In the run game, the defense must now account for the threat that Jones might pull the ball, so it opens up more creases for the running back to work through. Last week, the Cowboys gave up two rushing touchdowns to Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold.

Having Jones run the ball should be factored in on any short-yardage or red zone play, as this should help keep Micah Parsons, Randy Gregory, and company from pinning the Giants' ears back and attacking in the passing game.

Key 3: Stop the Run

The Giants have surrendered over 122 yards per game on the ground this season. Last week without middle linebacker Blake Martinez manning the middle, the New Orleans Saints rushed for 170 yards.

That's not good news for a Giants' run defense that this week will face the two-headed monster of All-Pro Ezekiel Elliot and third-year running back Tony Pollard. The Cowboys ran all over the Panthers, who have a top-10 run defense, recording 245 yards to the Cowboys.

Elliott Is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and Pollard is averaging a massive 6.8 yards/carry. More impressive is that they abandoned the run in their first game of the season against Tampa Bay. But since then, they have been fantastic on the ground.

The Giants will need to focus on plugging running lanes early and often. They can't allow those two backs to get ahead of steam running downhill because when they do, they are difficult to bring to the ground.

The mission begins with the defensive line. They will need to maintain their gap integrity; they can't allow themselves to get bullied by that Cowboys' offensive line, which seems to be getting healthier and more cohesive.

The Giants linebackers need to plug gaps and make the Cowboys running backs beat them east and west because they are less effective.

It also gives the Giants secondary to come down and help in corralling the runners. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham could also dial up some blitzes to put players in position to make tackles on their way to pressure the quarterback.

Final Thoughts

This is another litmus test for the Giants, who get a chance to see where they stack up in a division that seems as if it is shaping up to be the Cowboys' to lose.

If the Giants want to leave Dallas with a victory, they need to apply some of these strategies while playing a mistake-free game. They will need to make Dallas beat them doing things the Cowboys would rather not do.

If the Giants can hold steady against the Cowboys, the game could be there for the taking.

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