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Giants Week 5 and 17 Opponent Preview | Dallas Cowboys
Giants fans have become used to matchups against the Dallas Cowboys much earlier in the season, but assuming the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't wipe out the first four weeks of the 2020 season, the Giants won't see the Cowboys until Week 5 when they kick off a six-game stretch against NFC opponents in which five of those games will come against the NFC East.
That Week 5 meeting will, for the first time in the 60-year series history, see a first-year head coach for each team--rookie head coach Joe Judge of the Giants and veteran Mike McCarthy of Dallas--go against each other.
However, one coach is very familiar with this rivalry on the Giants' sidelines, and that is Jason Garrett, whom McCarthy replaced. Of course, Garrett is the Giants offensive coordinator, and this will e his first visit to AT&T Stadium to face the team he led from 2010-19.
Despite having moved on, Garrett's reputation is still heavily rooted in Dallas, as his return to The Star will be among the league's top storylines for Week 5. How the crowd reacts to Garrett and the Giants offense is sure to be an attentive subject by the CBS broadcast crew throughout the game.
The real question though, will be how well the Giants offense stacks up by that point to the one that Garrett left behind. Garrett, remember, laid the foundation for things that quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott do well. It will be interesting to see how many of his tricks from his days in Dallas find their way into the Giants' playbook.
How big of an impact Garrett made in the success of Prescott and Elliot could be defined by how the two do without their former coach, and how their performance is weighed against that of Jones and Barkley now under Garrett's guidance.
The Giants will also host the Cowboys in Week 17 in the 2020 regular-season finale.
By The Numbers
- Cowboys lead all-time series 68-46-2
- Giants lead all-time postseason series 1-0
- Since 1970 NFL-AFL merger Cowboys lead series 58-30
- Since 2000 Cowboys lead series 21-20
- First meeting: December 4, 1960, Cowboys 31 @ Giants 31
- Last meeting: November 4, 2019, Cowboys 37 @ Giants 18
- Largest Giants margin of victory: November 11, 1962, Giants 41 @ Cowboys 10
- Largest Cowboys margin of victory: September 18, 1966, Giants 7 @ Cowboys 52
Key Matchup: Giants Secondary vs. Cowboys Wide Receivers
The Cowboys' biggest contract signing of the offseason (so far) and their first-round draft pick both went toward bolstering the wide receiver corps.
Amari Cooper's five-year, $100 million contract extension combined with the Cowboys' selection of Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb 17th overall ensures quarterback Dak Prescott should have ample firepower with which to work in 2020.
The Giants made a similar albeit smaller-scale splurge in their secondary this offseason. General manager Dave Gettleman brought in cornerback James Bradberry, who signed up to a three-year $43.5 million contract.
Although it's not yet known if defensive coordinator Patrick Graham plans to have his cornerbacks travel with the opponents' receivers, Bradberry is versatile enough to do so.
Per PFF, he has played 114 snaps at nickel cornerback, 2,716 snaps at left outside cornerback, and 970 at right outside cornerback during his career. Bradberry would be a physical matchup for either receiver as he excels in press coverage at the line of scrimmage.
However, Lamb or Cooper might be able to take advantage of Bradberry's aggressiveness in certain situations.
Bradberry's aggression has allowed receivers to get behind him in the past as Bradberry lacks the recovery speed to combat mistakes against faster receivers.
The Giants do not know if they'll have DeAndre Baker available for the game. Baker is facing four counts each of aggravated assault and armed robbery stemming from allegations last month at a Miramar, Florida social gathering.
Key Matchup: Giants Defense vs. Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott
Just when the Giants defense thought it could exhale in knowing that long-time thorn in their side Jason Witten is gone, there is a brand new thorn to be concerned over.
That would be quarterback Dak Prescott, who's currently trying to get a new deal from the Cowboys. Prescott has a 6-2 career record against the Giants and has thrown 17 touchdowns to just three interceptions in those eight games he's faced them.
And if that's not enough to create some agita for the Giants defense, Prescott, who has run RPOs--the kryptonite to the Giants defenses of the past--is averaging nearly four yards per rushing attempt against them.
A big key to slowing Prescott down is to take away the areas outside the numbers, where he's been so good. Per Pro Football Focus, Prescott reached elite levels in terms of his NFL passer ratings on throws outside the numbers to the left side of the field.
The Giants will need to try to take that area away from him as well as jam up the seam, where Prescott recorded a passer rating of 127.8 on throws up the seam (many to his tight ends).
