Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants primer: NFC East is up for grabs
After a long offseason and an overall strange 2020, we have finally made it to the final week of the NFL regular season. The Dallas Cowboys are matched up with the New York Giants in a game that has major playoff implications. Both the Cowboys (6-9) and the Giants (5-10) have a shot of winning […]
After a long offseason and an overall strange 2020, we have finally made it to the final week of the NFL regular season. The Dallas Cowboys are matched up with the New York Giants in a game that has major playoff implications.
Both the Cowboys (6-9) and the Giants (5-10) have a shot of winning the NFC East division and making the playoffs. That seemed like as unlikely as ever just a few weeks ago for the Cowboys, but the team ran off three consecutive wins. It helps that the division as a whole has been awful for the majority of the season, too.
The winner of the Cowboys-Giants game will need some help from the division foe Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, Cowboys fans will be forced to cheer for the Eagles. An Eagles win over the Washington Football Team (6-9) will mean the winner of Dallas-New York wins the NFC East.
A Washington win, however, would put Ron Rivera's squad into the playoffs. Washington beat Dallas twice this season and will finish with a better record than New York with a victory over Philadelphia tonight. Expect both the Cowboys and Giants to go all out this afternoon, as neither team will know their fate until late Sunday evening.
Jason Garrett versus the Cowboys.
One of the bigger headlines of Sunday's matchup is former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett calling plays for the New York Giants in the pivotal battle. Of course, the two teams played earlier this season, so this is not the first time that Garrett and the Cowboys have matched up, but week 17 has much bigger immediate implications than the week 5 Cowboys win.
New York is — and has been — without running back Saquon Barkley, which certainly does not make Garrett's job any easier. The Giants rank 31st in the league in both total offense and scoring offense while also ranking near the very bottom in passing and rushing offense. Simply put: the Giants have their fair share of struggles when they possess the football.
Still, the Giants have shown flashes of putting a least a little bit of points on the board this season — scoring 34 against the Cowboys in the team's first meeting of the year, 27 in a game against the Eagles, and 23 in a win over Washington.
The Cowboys defense has played much improved since the week 5 battle. It will be interesting to see how well they play when a potential playoff spot is on the line.
Kellen Moore will return as Cowboys offensive coordinator.
On the other side, Kellen Moore has been calling plays for the Cowboys all season and there was some speculation that the former Boise State star would return to the college game in a coaching role.
However, Moore reportedly bypassed an opportunity to be the head coach at his alma mater in favor of returning as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. That is big news, as Moore is one of the brightest offensive minds in football and has done an overall solid job with the Cowboys offense without his starting quarterback, starting offensive tackles, and other important pieces.
Perhaps more importantly, this means that Dak Prescott will almost assuredly be back in Dallas as well. The Cowboys franchise quarterback was on pace to shatter NFL records this season before going down with an injury, and he has a great relationship with Moore. It would make sense that Moore wanted to make sure that Prescott will be his quarterback before committing to being the coordinator long-term.
In the meantime, we get to see what Moore has dialed up for Joe Judge's Giants defense.
How to Watch:
When: January 3rd, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM CT
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
TV: FOX
Broadcast crew: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews (field reporter)
Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
