Fewer things are better in life than watching two bitter rivals go at each other in a divisional matchup game in the NFL and this Monday night we get one of the best rivalries in the league. Giants vs Cowboys. There is no love lost between these two teams or their fans and the Giants fan base is going to show up big time and “White Out” MetLife Stadium. Giants' fans will also be celebrating the induction of Leonard Marshall into the Ring of Honor. It will be quite the night and this matchup should be the typical NFC East slugfest that we have all come to know and love.
Let’s breakdown this Week 3 matchup!
What To Expect
- As Brian Daboll said in regard to Micha Parsons, “he’s a problem”
- A defensive battle resulting in a low scoring game
- MetLife Stadium to be a sea of white!
- Leonard Marshall to be inducted into the Giants Ring of Honor at halftime
- Both teams have some inexperience to deal with on the defensive side of the ball
- Giants defensive line will play better
- Both the Cowboys and Giants defenses will try to control the run game and put the game in Copper Rush’s and Daniel Jones’s hands
Numbers Don’t Lie
- The Giants have lost 9 of their last 10 matchups against the Cowboys
- The Giants have lost 6 straight Monday Night Football games
- Cowboys are 2.5-point underdogs which many people did not expect
- This the first time since Dec 2018 that the Giants are favorites against the Cowboys
- Cowboys have held the Bengals and Buccaneers to under 20 points
- Micah Parsons leads the NFL in sacks with 4 after only 2 games
- Richie James leads the Giants in receptions after 2 weeks with 11 catches for 110 yards
- Giants are ranked 31st in the league in passing yards per game after 2 weeks
- Cooper Rush went 19 of 31 for 235 yards and a 1 touchdown last week against Cincinnati
Injury Report – Giants (notable)
- Leonard Williams (did not practice)
- Wan’Dale Robinson (did not practice)
- Kadarius Toney (limited practice)
- Azeez Ojulari – (limited practice)
- Kayvon Thibodeaux – (limited practice)
Injury Report – Cowboys (notable)
- Dalton Schultz (did not practice)
- Trevon Diggs (did not practice/ non injury)
- Michael Gallup (full participation)
- Micah Parsons (did not practice/illness)
Key Matchup(s) of the Game
Quarterbacks & Wide Receivers
- After two weeks, Cooper Rush has seemed to build some nice chemistry with his wide receivers while Daniel Jones has seemed to build chemistry with some of his receivers. Jones is interception prone, and he is currently 48-30 in his career for touchdowns to interceptions. Cooper Rush has star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb meanwhile the Giants number 1 wide receiver Kenny Golladay has been missing in action for the past 2 weeks. Richie James is the leading receiver for the Giants, but he mostly plays from the slot. Sterling Shepard continues to be reliable when it comes to making the big play but there is a strong possibility that Michael Gallup is back this week for the Cowboys. This will come down to which quarterback makes the least number of mistakes and which wide receiving corps can come up big when they need to against these defenses.
Defensive Battles
- If you like defensive battles and particularly a gritty and grind it out type game than look no further than this classic NFC East matchup. This game should be a defensive battle and a low scoring affair with only a few big plays getting mixed in. Micah Parsons will be a nightmare, but the Giants will put the game in Cooper Rush’s hand, control the ground game and make the Cowboys beat them with any receivers not named CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys will most likely try to implement the same game plan, but the Giants defense can gain the edge if they can successfully confuse the Cowboys offensive line.
Take the bet?
Cowboys are 2.5-point underdogs, but they are 8-5-1 ATS against the Giants since 2015 and they are 17-7 ATS against NFC East opponents. The Giants are 7-6 ATS in Monday night games since 2015 while the Cowboys are 5-2 ATS. Most of the money is on Dallas and it's understandable not wanting to lay the points with Daniel Jones. This game should be a much closer affair than people expect.
Who Wins
Dallas takes this one (unfortunately)
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