Top 5 New York Giants Players to Watch in Week 3 Meeting with Dallas Cowboys
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The New York Giants are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and aim to take their perfect start a step further against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
After squeaking by with a 21-20 Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans, the Giants executed another close 19-16 win against the Carolina Panthers last week. Set to face their first divisional opponent of the regular season this week, the Giants could be in store for another closely contested game.
Here are the Top 5 players and/or position groups to watch in Week 3.
QB Daniel Jones
In 40 games played, Jones has conceded a total of 30 interceptions and 37 fumbles versus 48 touchdowns. Showing flares of his potential throughout his tenure in the NFL, consistency has been Jones’ Achilles heel since Day 1.
In 71 dropbacks so far, Jones has been able to muster a completion percentage of 70.9 but already has two turnover-worthy plays to his name and has committed eight bad throws.
Jones has continued to struggle in the red zone. In seven pass attempts in the red zone this season, Jones has completed four passes for 28 yards and two touchdowns to go with one interception.
On Monday night, Jones will be tasked with outdueling a tough, durable Cowboys pass defense that is sixth in the league in passing yards per game (180.0). While the Cowboys defense has just two turnovers so far, their pressure has been relentless as they sit in third in the league in sacks (8), four of which have come from edge rusher Micah Parsons.
Seeing Jones hasn’t illustrated great passing efficiency outside of the pocket when scrambling, he will need to deliver his best game if the Giants stand a chance to win.
Cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Cor’Dale Flott
The Cowboys receivers represent perhaps the best group the Giants defense will face thus far this season. CeeDee Lamb is the marquis name of the group. Although Lamb has not been off to the best of starts, reeling in just 102 yards on nine receptions with no touchdowns, the targets have been there (22 total), and the Cowboys have not been afraid to put their best wide receiver to work.
Noah Brown is an up-and-comer. Last week Brown caught all five of his targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys are also hoping to have Michael Gallup, who in 2019 posted over 1,000 receiving yards, back this week now that his recovery from an ACL injury is complete. Gallup's return will give defenses another thing to worry about in the Cowboys' passing game.
The task of slowing down the trio of Lamb, Brown, and Gallup will primarily fall on cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Cor’Dale Flott. Jackson has been phenomenal this season, allowing just one reception for 27 yards on all seven targets he’s received while allowing no touchdowns. Jackson also gathered his first fumble recovery on the season against the Panthers last week.
Flott made his NFL regular season debut last week instead of Aaron Robinson (appendectomy), showing plenty of promise to start the first half. At the beginning of the third quarter, Flott would receive his ‘Welcome to the NFL Moment’ by conceding a 16-yard touchdown to wide receiver D.J. Moore, which at the time led the Panthers to take a 7-point lead.
That said, Flott didn't play badly for his first NFL action. That 16-yard touchdown pass completion was the only one out of three targets he gave up, as he finished with a 91.7 coverage rating. Flott, who had some cramping in the game, should be more at ease this week with his role having had his first taste of live NFL game action speed.
Offensive Tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal
Following a promising Week 1 performance against the Titans, the Giants starting offensive tackles looked human against the Panthers.
In 46 pass blocking snaps in Week 2, rookie right tackle Evan Neal allowed three pressures, which included his first sack that came at the hands of Brian Burns. Andrew Thomas has yet to allow a sack this season. But after coming off a great performance against the Titans where he only conceded one pressure, Thomas allowed three last week, two of which were hits.
If both tackles thought they were in for a tough time against the Panthers, their matchup against the Cowboys' edge rushers could be far more challenging. The Cowboys come off the edge in strength and numbers. Led by Micah Parsons (who will likely see a lot of Neal), who lines up all over the formation, the tackles will also need to be wary of defenders such as Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr., and DeMarcus Lawrence.
With eight sacks to their name in just two games, the Cowboys have illustrated how disruptive their pass rush can be. The Giants tackles will need to deliver a much better pass-blocking performance than last week if Jones stands a fighting chance to succeed against the Cowboys' defense.
DE Kayvon Thibodeaux
During his college career, outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux built a reputation for his unrelenting pursuit and freak-of-nature athleticism, leading him to amass 19 sacks. Drafted fifth overall by the Giants, Thibodeaux has missed the first two games of the season while recovering from an MCL sprain.
However, this week, the Giants will finally see whether their draft investment paid off as Thibodeaux sets out to generate an immediate impact for the Giants' defense. Making quarterback Cooper Rush uncomfortable in the pocket is essential for the Giants' defense to garner success on Monday.
Though Thibodeaux will be going against a revamped Cowboys offensive line that currently ranks 21st in the league in pass-blocking efficiency (21 pressures allowed), the rookie should be pretty much amped up for his NFL debut, which has been a long time coming.
DL Dexter Lawrence II
Two games into the season, Dexter Lawrence II leads the team in pressure (six).
The balance in efficiency Lawrence has been able to garner as both a run stopper and pass rusher has been very impressive. In 90 defensive snaps, Lawrence has two stops and a forced fumble, with six total tackles and six pressures.
This Giants defense has benefitted from his ability to power up the middle and force quarterbacks to scramble.
What makes this an intriguing matchup is twofold. The first point comes down to his matchups inside against center Tyler Biadasz and All-Pro right guard Zack Martin (the two have only allowed three pressures between them this season).
The second point comes down to the unlikelihood of the Giants having fellow defensive lineman Leonard Williams available. Should Williams be unable to play, the brunt of the interior guarding priorities will likely be allocated towards Lawrence. The latter right now is playing some of his best ball, regardless of the challenges thrown his way.
Lastly, Lawrence and friends will be tasked with having to bottle up running backs Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard before either can get to the second level.
Elliot averages 4.2 yards per carry and 2.88 yards after contact, highlighting his ability to break tackles and fight for extra yards.
What Elliot brings in power, Pollard brings in speed, providing a great set of hands that have made him a threat as a receiver. In their win against the Bengals, Pollard had four receptions on seven targets for 55 yards.
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