Why the Giants Will Win, Why They Won't, and a Week 15 Prediction

This week's Giants game against the Dallas Cowboys has the potential to make for a very long afternoon for the home team.

Let's be realistic.

The Giants, at 4-9, are still mathematically alive for a playoff berth, but they'd pretty much need to win out and have a bunch of things happen to grab that final seed in the NFC race.

Yeah, you never say never, but if we're being honest, this Giants team going to the playoffs this year has about as much of a chance of happening as Eli Manning unretiring.

The Giants, on paper, seem overmatched this week. That Cowboys passing game versus the depleted defensive secondary? Yikes!

The Dallas pass rush versus the Giants offensive line? Double yikes!

But look, the Giants don't have to make it easy, or Dallas, who this weekend will saunter into MetLife Stadium with their spot atop the NFC East, can clinch the division with a win over the Giants.

The Giants talk about playing with pride every week. If they truly mean that, they'll find a way to overcome the COVID cases, the injuries, and all the other roadblocks that were tossed in their path and let the Cowboys win the division against another team on another day.

Why the Giants Will Win

Any given Sunday. (Sorry, that's all I have given how this Giants team has performed the last two weeks.)

Why the Giants Will Lose

I studied literature and creative writing as an undergraduate in college for those who don't know, and one of my favorite sonnets is Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?"

That sonnet, which you can read here if you're remotely curious, begins with "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

So in tribute to that great sonnet, let's count the potential ways this banged up, and understaffed Giants will come up short against this Dallas Cowboys team.

They're going against the league's second-ranked offense (409.1 yards/game) with a banged-up and depleted secondary. They're going against the league's second-ranked scoring offense (29.2 points/game), the fourth-best passing attack (280.6 yards/game), and the sixth-best rushing attack (128.5 yards/game).

If all that's not scary enough, the Cowboys also have the league's third-best third-down defense (30.9 percent conversion rate), the 12th best scoring defense (22.1 points allowed per game), and the second-best in takeaways (27 on the year).

That's a lot of ways the Cowboys can potentially beat the Giants if each of those units is on their game Sunday.

Prediction

You probably already know which way I'm leaning since I said a few weeks back I wouldn't pick the Giants to win until I saw enough progress to make me think things were headed in the right direction.

Sorry folks, but nothing's changed there. This Giants team is 1-3 in its last four games, and has averaged 13.25 points over that period, and has been outscored 94-53.

I know, any given Sunday, but it's pretty difficult to ignore what's been a disturbing trend with this team's inability to score.

Dallas 34, Giants 17

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