Why the Giants Will Beat the Cowboys, Why They Won't and What Will Happen
It's time for the Giants to erase the "curse" of the black cat and take it to the Cowboys.
During the Giants' Week 9 home game against Dallas last season, a game played on Monday Night Football, New York took a 9-3 lead over the Cowboys in the second quarter.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a black cat came darting out onto the field and ran out of nowhere and rank across the field, no doubt frightened by the growing noise of an amused crowd.
Once the cat exited the field and sought refuge under the stands, the Giants' luck took a turn for the worse as the Cowboys would go on to outscore the Giants 34-9 the rest of the game.
Well, it's time for the curse to be lifted, and indeed, there's evidence that when the playoffs are on the line, the Giants can get the better of the Cowboys.
They did so in 1981, winning an overtime game that sent the Giants to the playoffs and ended an 18-year playoff drought. New York would fall in the Division round, but still, that they finally snapped the 18-year skid and did so against a hated division rival made it all the sweeter.
More recently, they did so in the 2011 regular-season finale, a game that put the Giants into the playoffs as a Wild Card, which they rode to their fourth Super Bowl championship.
With both teams needing a win and for Washington to lose to Philadelphia, whose luck will prevail? Read on for the scenarios.
Why the Giants Will Win
==The Cowboys have outscored their last three opponents 108-57, but worth noting is that each of those teams--the Bengals, 49ers, and Eagles--have not had their starting quarterback in place, which has made it easier for their defense.
The Giants, however, will no only have their starting quarterback in place this week, but Daniel Jones has been removed from the injury report in what's been an exciting development.
==The Giants will surprise the Cowboys and have Jones run. As I see it, the Giants, who have been toying with the Cowboys all week when it comes to whether they'll have any designed runs for Jones, can play it one of three ways.
They can either play it straight up and leave Jones in the picket as the quarterback said would probably be the case, they can spring a well-timed run on Dallas in the first half to get them thinking and possibly adjusting the defense in the second half.
Or, they can wait until the third quarter when they need some critical third-down conversions and then spring a fresh-legged Jones on Dallas at a moment's notice.
The score will dictate what they end up doing, but hey, if this was planned by Judge and Jones to purposely put doubt in the Cowboys' minds about how Jones will be deployed other than from the pocket, mission accomplished.
RELATED
New York Giants Week 17 Matchup: First Look at Cowboys' Offense
New York Giants Week 17 Matchup: First Look at Cowboys' Defense
Why the Giants Will Lose
==The Cowboys, who have beaten the Giants the last seven times, continue to prove that they have the Giants' number no matter who the coach or quarterback is.
==The Giants offensive line, which has allowed 15 sacks in their last three games, have no answers for Cowboys defensive ends Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence.
==The Giants offense, which has completed 27.2% of their third-down attempts (nine of 23) over their three-game losing streak, still can't figure out how to reverse this disturbing trend.
==Cowboys special teams coordinator John "Bones" Fassel comes up with a dastardly trick play that catches the Giants special teams--a group that has come crashing over the last month or so back down to earth in a big way.
READ MORE
Giants Think They Can Keep Up with Dallas Cowboys in a Scoring Showdown
Daniel Jones Offers a Candid Admission About His Injury-Related Limitations
What Will Probably Happen
The Giants do want the NFC East title, despite all their talk downplaying that possibility. After all, that is why they train, why they practice, and why they play the game--for the chance to be the best.
But even though the Cowboys have faced three backup quarterbacks during their three-game winning streak, that has little to do with quarterback Andy Dalton and how he's clicked with receivers Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup.
If this game gets into a scoring shootout, I'm not so confident the Giants will be able to keep up, regardless of how healthy Daniel Jones is. The Giants defense has done an excellent job holding some potent offenses to under 30 points, but I just don't feel confident enough in the offense to keep up with the scoring.
Cowboys 23, Giants 13
