New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys: Week 17 Gameday Blog & Analysis

This week's Giants-Cowboys regular-series finale could be for all the marbles, as if every there was a "must-win" game for the Giants, this would be it.

Author:
Jackson Thompson
Updated:
Jan 3, 2021 2:29 PM EST
Original:
Jan 3, 2021

When you only have 16 games that truly count for something, every week is a must-win.

Yet let's be real; there are some games a team can afford to lose that don't necessarily end up coming back to bite them in the standings or when playoff berths are determined.

That's not the case this week. This game is not only a must-win for the Giants, it's also a must-win for Dallas, as the winner will then have to wait until around 11:00 tonight to find out if they are headed to the postseason or headed home.

Can the Giants, who have been on a scoring drought of late, keep pace with a Cowboys team whose offense has started to click down the stretch?

Follow our live blog as we detail our observations and notes from the game. And be sure to stick around here at Giants Country for postgame coverage, thoughts, and much more after the game and into the week.

Giants: What to Watch For

Look to improve to 6-5 all-time in the month of January. The last time the Giants played a regular season game in January was in 2017 when they defeated the Washington Football Team 19-10.

With a win against Dallas, the Giants can finish 3-0 versus the NFC East at home for the first time since 2005.

QB Daniel Jones needs 15 yards (685) to reach 700 rushing yards for his career.

TE Evan Engram needs 4 receptions (61) to surpass his career-high of 64 (2017).

WR Sterling Shepard needs 9 receptions (58) to surpass his career high of 66 (2018).

K Graham Gano needs 1 more converted field goal (29 in a row) to move into first all-time in franchise history for consecutive field goals made. (Josh Brown, 29).

This Week on Giants Country:

Inactive List

Here is our article on the Giants inactive list and projected lineup changes.

Pregame

It's officially a new year for the Giants, and while they're hoping to leave most of their problems behind in 2020, they still have a season to wrap up and a potential playoff spot to fight for.

Their matchup against the Cowboys today is kind of stuck in purgatory between being meaningful and being a formality as they won't know the true division winner until after the Eagles play the Washington Football Team on Sunday Night Football.

While a potential division title and playoff spot puts a much brighter aura on this game than most Week-17 matchups between a pair of losing teams, head coach Joe Judge and his young team will be motivated to end their first season together on a high note regardless of implications.

First Quarter

Daniel Jones takes the field in his first start of the 2021 calendar year and starts the new year 1-for-1 on a good pass to his Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram.

Jones made a statement during the week that he would not be able to run as much today but has already bucked that statement by taking off for a six-yard run on a scramble.

Jones takes a tumble on the way down and appears to be fine. Whether the Giants use any designed runs with Jones remains to be seen as Jones improvised on the last run.

The Giants cap off a strong opening drive on an end-around to wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who runs it in 23 yards out to give the Giants an early lead, but kicker Graham Gano misses the extra point.

Giants lead 6-0.

For Shepard, the longest-tenured Giant in his fifth NFL season, it is his first career rushing touchdown and his third of the season.

Safety Xavier McKinney appeared to haul in his first career interception on 3rd-and-7, but a holding penalty on fellow safety defensive back Darnay Holmes brings the play bay as Dallas gets an automatic first down.

The Giants defense gets off the field anyway. Inside linebacker and defensive captain Blake Martinez gets through on a third-down blitz and brings down Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton for his third sack of the season.

Jones will come back onto the field and start from his own 14-yard line.

Jones starts the drive with his first designed run of the game, keeping the ball and getting up the field for just three yards.

The Giants give it right back, as running back Wayne Gallman fumbles on his first carry of the drive and gives the Cowboys ideal starting field position.

Defense tackle Leonard Williams bails out Gallman with a big third-down sack. It is William's 9.5th sack of the season as he builds on his career year.

However, Dallas is still able to capitalize on the turnover with a 38-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein.

Giants lead 6-3.

Second Quarter

The Giants aren't able to get past midfield on their next position, as a delay of game penalty backs them up five yards and throws off the rhythm of their entire drive.

Dalton gets away with another interception as a 3rd-and-4 pass is dropped by Giants defensive back Julian Love and the Cowboys are fortunate to punt it back.

The Giants waste another possession with a failed design run by Jones and an incomplete pass. Meanwhile, Gallman is averaging over eight yards per carry and only has four runs.

Williams makes another huge play on third down, athletically catching up to a scrambling Dalton to bring him down from behind and force another punt.

The Giants give it right back though as Jones throws two more incompletions on the ensuing possession.

The Giants defense answers again though as they don't give up a yard on Dallas' next possession and force another punt.

The Giants will start their next drive from their own 35-yard line.

The Giants' offense gets into a rhythm on the next drive and go down the field for their second touchdown of the game, as Jones passes to Shepard from 10 yards out as Shepard has the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

Giants lead 13-3.

Giants defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson gets in on the sack parade, bringing down Dalton for an eight-yard loss on first down.

Dallas opts to run the ball on 3rd-and-long near to get into better field goal range and Zuerlein connects from 46 yards out to cut the Giants' lead back to one possession.

Giants lead 13-6.

The Cowboys defense gets called for its fourth penalty of the game with an offsides by Randy Gregory and a pass interference by Jaylon Smith. as the Giants get the ball inside Dallas territory.

Jones cashes in with a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dante Pettis who hauls in his first touchdown catch of the season. After a lengthy review, officials determined that Pettis completed the process of a catch and crossed the goal line with possession.

Giants lead 20-6.

A mistake by the Cowboys before the half nearly costs them a chance to add on any points, as a false start penalty with eight seconds left backs the field goal up to 57 yards, but Zuerlein connects and cuts the Giants' lead to 11 before the half.

Giants lead 20-9.

Halftime

A strong defensive effort and Jones' best passing half of the season has yielded the Giants an impressive halftime lead. However, the Giants have certainly left some meat on the bone and the score does not reflect how well they've played in the half.

The first-quarter fumble, a pair of interceptions that weren't and a failure to execute on a number of makeable third-down attempts could certainly come back to haunt the Giants in the second half if they don't build on their strong performance so far.

One somewhat negative takeaway from the game is that Jones clearly lied earlier in the week when he said he would be limited as a runner, as the Giants have attempted multiple designed runs for Jones but to no success.

Another questionable aspect of the Giants offense so far is the continued underuse of Gallman. Gallman is averaging 7.2 yards per carry but only has five rushing attempts in the game and only had one in the entire second quarter.

Yes, the Giants' passing attack is working, but with a lead in the second half they should hope to lean on the run game and underusing Gallman could cost them a handful of crucial yards.

Meanwhile, on Dallas' side, Dalton's struggle in crucial games are making a an appearance to the Giants' benefit. Dalton built a reputation of failing to deliver in crucial games during his time as the Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback, as seen by his 0-4 playoff record.

Dalton has been off on a number of passes and should have been picked off twice already in this game. The Giants' defense has played its part as well, sacking Dalton three times and pressuring him countless more.

Now, can the Giants finish in a crucial Week-17 game? The second half will speak volumes to Judge's leadership as a big-game coach and it will start on defense.

Third Quarter

Dalton gets away with his third interception of the game as cornerback James Bradberry drops an easy pick on 3rd-and-7. The good news for the Giants is another 3-and-out stop as well as a good return by Jabrill Peppers on the punt.

Jones will take over at his own 42-yard line with a chance to build on the lead.

The Giants' Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram contributes his weekly costly mistake as a pass thrown right into his hands bounces out and up into the air and is intercepted by Dallas.

The Cowboys capitalize on the turnover again as Dalton finds Cooper to set up a 1st-and-goal as Ezekiel Elliott punches it in for a touchdown to cut the Giants' lead to just four points.

Giants lead 20-16.

The Giants are absolutely victimized by an incorrect call by the officials, as Shepard is called for a crack-back block that should not have been called and backs the Giants up 15 yards.

The Giants are unable to pick up the first down and another promising drive is killed.

The Cowboys will start their next drive from their own 20-yard line.

Dallas is able to get the ball inside the Giants' red zone but a hand injury to Dalton has put the efficiency of the Dallas offense into question going into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Giants start the fourth quarter strong as edge rusher Kyler Fackrell sacks Dalton on third down. Fackrell is making his return from injury today after spending the last four weeks with a calf injury. Fackrell now has four sacks on the season.

The Cowboys are still able to get some points as Zuerlein connects from 36 yards out to cut the difference to just one point.

Giants lead 20-19.

Williams officially has his first double-digit sack season, bringing down Dalton on third down to finally slow down Dallas' recent offense surge and force another punt.

Williams has made a case all year for a long-term contract extension and is putting an exclamation mark on that case today.

The Giants sneak three points out as a poor call by officials allows Pettis to get away with a catch he seemed to drop. The Giants rush the field goal unit out and snap the ball fast enough for Gano to hit a 50-yard field goal, as Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy gets caught napping on a crucial challenge situation.

Giants lead 23-19.

Dallas is driving and taking big chunks of time off the clock. The Giants' defense misses a chance to get off the field on a quarterback keeper by Dalton, who is playing admirably through the hand injury.

The Cowboys have the ball at the Giants' 23-yard line inside the two-minute warning as the Giants look to protect a four-point lead and their playoff hopes in the final two minutes of the regular season.

Williams comes up again with a monster sack, driving Dalton to the ground on 1st-and-goal.

McKinney comes up clutch!

With an interception on 3rd-and-goal, McKinney snags a Dalton pass in the end zone to give the Giants the ball back with just over a minute left in the game.

For McKinney, it's his first official career interception but really the second of the game, as he hauled in on earlier that was called back due to a holding penalty.

Despite picking up a would-be game-clinching first down, this game now hangs in the balance of a replay review, as a Gallman fumble is originally called to be recovered by the Giants.

The officials confirm the call that it was recovered by the Gallman, and the Giants will be able to kneel the game out and at the very least, end the regular season with a win.

Giants win 23-19.