The New York Giants (0-4, 0-2 away) meet up with the Dallas Cowboys (1-3, 1-1 home) in week 5 of NFL action. New York is still in search of their first victory of the season, while Dallas aims to bounce back after a shootout loss to the Browns last week.
The big story for Sunday afternoon’s game is former Dallas head coach Jason Garrett returning to town as the Giants’ offensive coordinator. Kickoff for this NFC East showdown is at for 4:25 p.m. EST in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Dallas is an 8.5-point favorite in Sunday afternoon’s game.
What to Know – New York Giants
The Giants have yet to tally a mark in the win column this season, and are 4-16 in the regular season dating back to the start of last year. New York is playing the remainder of the season without star running back Saquon Barkley who tore his ACL in a Week 2 loss to the Bears.
Second-year quarterback Daniel Jones might be in what some call a sophomore slump this year after a productive rookie campaign. Jones has completed 91-of-149 passes for 889 yards and thrown two touchdowns with five interceptions.
New York utilizes a backfield by committee with the loss of Barkley. Wayne Gallman (10 attempts, 52 yards), Dion Lewis (13 attempts, 31 yards, one touchdown), and recent free-agent signee Devonta Freeman (16 attempts, 43 yards) all see action out of the backfield for the Giants.
Wide receivers Darius Slayton (15 receptions, 236 yards, two touchdowns) and Golden Tate (14 receptions, 103 yards), as well as tight end Evan Engram (17 catches, 131 yards), are frequent targets for Jones in the passing game.
Defensively the Giants are 12th in the NFL surrendering 24.0 points per game and 5th in total yards per game at 328.3. Linebacker Blake Martinez is 2nd in the league with 43 tackles on the year, including 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
What to Know – Dallas Cowboys
Dallas enters Sunday on the heels of a two-game losing streak and just one victory to start the year. The Cowboys have had all the answers offensively, but have been nowhere to be found defensively. Dallas sits just one game ahead of the Giants in the NFC East standings.
Dak Prescott has led a high-scorer Cowboys offense, completing 137-of-201 passes for a league-best 1,690 yards and nine touchdowns. Prescott has also rushed the ball 16 times for 86 yards and three rushing scores.
Ezekiel Elliott continues to be the lead back in the Dallas offense, accumulating 273 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. One concern is Elliott has fumbled the ball three times, losing two of those.
Prescott spreads the ball around favorably to numerous Cowboy pass-catchers, but his primary targets are Amari Cooper (37 receptions, 401 yards, one touchdown), rookie CeeDee Lamb (21 receptions, 309 yards, two touchdowns), and Michael Gallup (13 receptions, 275 yards, one touchdown).
The Cowboys defense is allowing a league-worst 36.5 points per game and a concerning 430.5 yards of total offense over their first four. Dallas allowed a franchise-record 307 yards rushing versus the Browns last week.
The Pick is In
The Giants have had a rough time manufacturing points through the first four weeks of the season, and Dallas has had a tough time holding opponents out of the endzone. Statistically, this will be the worst offense the Cowboys have faced this season.
Dallas’ offense should be able to move the ball and control the clock against the Giants, but the Cowboy’s woes on defense are concerning. The safe play is the Giants and the points in this one.
