The New York Giants enter Week 2 with a matchup with their interdivisional rival, the Dallas Cowboys. Over the last five years, the Giants have only mustered one win against them.

Hoping to avoid a 0-2 start, they need to focus on three areas to win on the road.

Effectively protect Russell Wilson

Protecting your quarterback should be a simple concept, but it’s not for the Giants. In Week 1, they allowed the Washington Commanders to pressure Russell Wilson a ridiculous 22 times. The unit was without star left tackle Andrew Thomas, but it’s incredibly disappointing that the rest of the group was dominated as severely as they were.

As of Wednesday, there still isn’t much clarity on whether Thomas will play on Sunday. Regardless, they must prepare themselves for an aggressive front seven from Dallas.

Per NFL Pro, in Week 1, the Cowboys generated 11 pressures in just the second half after defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus aggressively pivoted to blitzing Jalen Hurts. They were extremely zone-heavy, running it 100% of the game. Without Micah Parsons, Eberflus opted to blitz six times while rotating eight different defensive linemen in.

If they don’t bounce back quickly, Sunday will be another brutal showing for the offensive line.

Involve Jaxson Dart in the run game

Working Jaxson Dart in as a rusher serves two purposes for this game. From a game planning standpoint, we saw last week the Cowboys struggle to contain Hurts as a rusher. Many of his biggest plays came on scrambles, but there is still success to be had.

Per NFL Pro, the Eagles only mustered 1.5 yards per carry when rushing between the tackles. It was clear that Dallas’ run defense is much stouter, but they still struggle with quarterbacks running the football.

It will be rough for Tyrone Tracy, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary to find yards on the ground. Additionally, Wilson is not the runner he once was and isn’t much of an asset as a designed runner. Dart’s athleticism can shine in this game after it was reported last week that he could be brought into the game in specific packages.

The second purpose this serves is allowing Dart to gain playing time gradually before he eventually takes over. It’s much easier for him to transition to being the starter if he’s getting reps now, rather than if they announce him as the starter in a few weeks.

Attack the Cowboys’ offensive tackles

Last week, Cowboys tackles Terence Steele and Tyler Guyton had shaky games against the Eagles. In a matchup against a loaded pass rush unit, they had their hands full.

Thankfully for the Giants, their best position group is their pass rush. Earlier this week, I discussed the importance of playing Abdul Carter more in the three-man weave of EDGE rushers. This has to be a game where his snap share goes up. As Guyton is still developing in year two and Steele has underwhelmed recently, this game will be a layup for Carter to pressure Dak Prescott.

Another layer for this is that last week, Prescott was the fifth least blitzed quarterback at just 17.1%. He also had the seventh most average time to throw with 2.29 seconds. Despite this, he was still pressured twelve times. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen must utilize his unique front seven to blitz Prescott and pressure him more than he did against the Eagles.

Ultimately, the Giants will need to step up from their Week 1 loss to the Washington Commanders to avoid a losing skid in September.

New York Giants News

When will Jaxson Dart take over? – Projecting when the Giants’ future franchise QB will start over Russell Wilson

New York Giants fans are chomping at the bit to see Jaxson Dart play again after his captivating three-game preseason performance. With so much anticipation building, fans are wondering when the coaching staff will hand the reins over from Russell Wilson to Dart. Let’s dig into the three most likely games that will set up […]

Joe DeLeone