An inside look at Thursday’s Giants-Cowboys matchup at AT&T Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb vs. Giants CB Deonte Banks
Here is another casualty that happens when a team loses its starting quarterback — the production of the top wide receiver goes down. Lamb has 77 receptions for 841 yards and four touchdowns — far below his career-best 2023 output — 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 TDs. He had Banks all turned around back in Week 4 on a 55-yard run-and-catch scoring play that brought into question Banks’ effort pursuing Lamb. Banks was nothing special last week, when he was matched up with the Bucs’ Mike Evans. In fact, Banks rarely, if ever, shows anything special and he certainly does not perform like the first-round pick he is.
Paul’s pick
Yes, we know that the Cowboys have lost their past six games at AT&T Stadium and trailed by 20 or more points in all six games — an ignominious NFL record. Are the Giants capable of adding to that home-cooking misery? They show no signs they are gearing up for much of anything. Memo to Drew Lock: Target Malik Nabers early — and often.
Cowboys 26, Giants 10
Four Downs
Tanks for nothing: As the Cowboys lost five consecutive games, a segment of their fan base, unaccustomed to dropping out of playoff contention before Thanksgiving, took solace in what awaited the franchise: A rare high pick in the upcoming draft.
Then the Cowboys snapped that losing streak with a wild 34-26 victory over the Commanders and, at 4-7, they are certainly not in the race in the NFC, but they are not completely out of it either. “I don’t plan on tanking,’’ pass rusher Micah Parsons said. “If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope that’s ruined, because we got a lot of football left to play. As long as I’m a part of this team, we’re always going to fight.’’
Not next man up: As soon as word came down that the Giants agreed to release Daniel Jones, it was a bit alarmist and reactionary to suggest the Cowboys would sign him and he would play and beat the Giants on Thanksgiving. Huh? Why would anyone think the Cowboys would want anything to do with Jones?
He is 1-8 in his career against the Cowboys, with four touchdown passes and six interceptions. Dallas players mocked him after some of these games.
Cooper Rush struggled in his first two starts replacing injured Dak Prescott, but Rush was solid in last week’s victory in Washington. He is 6-3 as a fill-in starter in his NFL career — including a 23-16 victory over the Giants in Week 3 of the 2022 season.
Any D in Big D? At least Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen tried something different last week. He put three inside linebackers — starters Bobby Okereke (60 snaps) and Micah McFadden (52 snaps) — out there, as usual, and also had rookie Darius Muasau (18 snaps) on the field at times with Okereke and McFadden, attempting to add some bulk and tackling to stop the run.
The results were not an instant hit, as the Giants allowed 156 rushing yards. They contained Rachaad White but were unable to lay a glove on Bucky Irving.
‘Tis the season: It is job-security time around the NFL — as in who has it and who does not. Put Daboll on the “does not’’ know for certain if he will be back in 2025 list, along with Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. In each of the previous three seasons, McCarthy won 12 games but did not find any playoff success.
On a recent radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “I don’t think it’s crazy at all’’ that McCarthy could get a contract extension. It sure seems as if both Daboll and McCarthy need to make something happen in these last six weeks.
